The Agtech Investing Report 2015 found that, across the globe, up to 526 deals were clinched last year involving new agricultural technologies, amounting to $4.6 billion in investments—nearly double the $2.36 billion invested in 2014.
Spread across 672 unique investors, the lion’s share of these deals—up to 58 percent of the total number, amounting to around $2.4 billion—was cornered by companies based in the United States, followed by those in Israel ($550 million), India ($506 million) and China ($480 million).
Such investment surge—in companies that manufacture environmentally safe biopesticides, provide crop-mapping services through drones or satellite technology, retrofit farm equipment with cutting edge sensors, or develop cloud-based information systems that help farmers monitor soil moisture and nutrients—points to a burgeoning agritech revolution, some have called Agriculture 3.0.
A 2012 CropLife article explained that where Agriculture 1.0 referred to the “fairly labor intensive, low productivity affair” that involved millions of small farms, and Agriculture 2.0 to the advances of the American Green Revolution that peaked in the 1960s, Agriculture 3.0 points to an era where farms are increasingly robotized, utilizing digital and “big data” technologies for better management and profitability.
In the Philippines a more fundamental agricultural revolution is needed. Despite the country’s breakneck economic growth, the sector barely grew in the last decade. In 2014, up to 31 percent of the country’s work force are farmers or fishermen, but they are among the least productive, accounting for only 10 percent of GDP. This explains why, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), between 2010 and 2012, the Philippines rated the fifth-highest food inadequacy in Asean at 28.3 percent, compared to 15.8 percent in Indonesia, 15.5 percent in Thailand and 6.9 percent in Malaysia.
Agriculture has also become a less attractive career path, leading to a farmer population whose average age was 57 years old in 2013. Fewer of their sons and daughters are enticed to continue their trade, choosing to pursue opportunities in the cities—if not abroad. This is understandable, especially when a farmer’s average monthly income is only P2,000 (or roughly $50).
The Duterte administration rightly refocuses the national development agenda on agriculture. The overarching goal should be food security, not necessarily food self-sufficiency—particularly in staples, like rice and basic items, like fish, fruits and vegetables, to ensure the population’s easy access to nutritious foods. The concurrent aim should be to raise the incomes of our farmers and fishermen.
We expect that, under the leadership of Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol, the government will move more decisively toward boosting productivity and strengthening core infrastructure—access roads, harvest facilities, and other related transport and logistical
requirements.
Eventually, the administration’s pivot to agriculture should include a long-term effort to deploy new agricultural technologies, mechanize and modernize our farming practices—to fast-track the Agriculture 3.0 revolution throughout the country.
E-mail: angara.ed@gmail.com.