Gelia T. Castillo's Response
II
AGRICULTURAL "FATIGUE"
AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT "BLUES":
ARE THEY BOTH PASSIm?
Let me start with an unequivocal answer which says, "no!" there is
agriculture "fatigue" and rural development "blues," but neither agriculture nor rural development has become pass6. In this assessment, I am
unknowingly joined by a most unlikely partner, Metro Manila Authority
Chairman and Quezon city Mayor Ismael Mathay, Jr. who, in his speech
before the Pan Xenia Fraternity's 71st Anniversary celebration, batted for
an honest- to-goodness countryside renewal to stem the migration to
Metro Manila. He said that "the develoPment of the countryside would also
allow provincial areas a deeper and more substantive participation in the
government's program to turn the country into a newly industrialized one
by the turn of the century. ''l
Unfortunately for Mayor Mathay, we might be able to do more about
natural increase than about in-migration. After all, the subliminal message
seems to be
"If you want to get ahead in life, migrate to the city; squat on
valuable government property; be a registered voter; join a militant
organization (perhaps even the military); fight relocation; and
eventually be rewarded with a house and lot (lighted and watered)
somewhere in the suburbs. No matter how cynical this may sound,
there is no such offer in the rural areas. Aider all, what did these
I. In Philippine Daily [nquirer, September 26, 1994.
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JOURNALOF PHILIPPINEDEVELOPMENT
migrants have in the places where they originated: a makeshift
dwelling on somebody else's lot (most of them were previously
squatters, too); no land to till, let alone own; no doctor in the barrio;
no church services except during fiesta; a lousy school, even if
tuition was free. And some of us think they should return to the
barrio for such an idyllic life! If one has the choice of being poor
in Leyte or Bicol, and poor in Quezon City, the choice seems
obvious."
After 40 years of rural development, a reacquaintance with the concept
tells us that perhaps rural development is in a no-win situation. Whenever
a rural area progresses to a certain degree, the place is classified as urban,
as per statistical definition (Balisacan 1993). While we define what is urban,
we do not define what is rural It is a residual categorization that which is
not urban is rural. Bahr and Mertins (1993), for example, estimate that the
proportion of increase in the urban population resulting from migration
(including reclassification) is around 43 percent in developing countries.
But more important is the reality that classifying a place as urban rather
than rural neither solves nor ends the rural problem. Rural-urban interactions are a fact of life evident in such trends as (1) rural poor moving to the
cities to become the urban poor; (2) fanning that affects more families as a
partial rather than main source of income; (3) nonfarm income (which could
come from urban wage labor) becoming a part of the diversified livelihood
strategy of many rural households; (4) rice income constituting less than 50
percent even in typical rice-dependent villages; (5) a considerable increase
in importance of the role of remittances in the life of the rural household;
(6) migration to urban areas (particularly female migration) contributing to
the rural household's income, part of which is invested in farming; and
(7) improved food production benefiting the urban poor through lower
prices. Conversion of farmland for industrial and residential purposes
impacts on both rural and urban areas. On the other hand, urban agriculture
has become an important survival strategy for urban dwellers, particularly
low-income ones.
HIGHLIGHTSOF PROCEEDINGS
617
In the meantime, the content of international development dialogues
and national development plans seems to have shifted away from agriculture, the rural poor and rural development toward the environment, urbanization and the urban poor. An illustration of this may be gleaned from the
advice of the Dutch National AdvisoryCouncil for Development Cooperation:
"The Council considers that the situation of many groups of
urban poor is often more helpless than that of the rural poor,
however difficult comparisons may be. In rural areas, the poor live
in networks of family relationships, and economic ties change
which can have a damaging impact such as that of the Green
Revolution."
The Council also pointed out that "attempts to prevent urban poverty
by increasing prosperity in rural areas is a strategy that cannot succeed.''2
Obviously, the many studies which have been done onthe positive gains
from agricultural growth and from rural-physical and soeio infrastructure
have not communicated their message. Anyway, successful rural development always results in urban reclassification as per definition! But to treat
rural poverty and urban poverty as discrete and separate phenomena is to
be naive about their relationships.
In order to partly overcome the bias against rural development arising
from the technical flaw in the definition of urban area, we must look for the
essence of rurality which, once done, will not automatically qualify a place
for urban classification. Because rural communities have a natural resource
base and since environmental degradation is associated with rural poverty
and a higher level of out-migration, then the productive and sustainable
management of natural resources and the institutional arrangements which
make it possible should be the central concern of rural development, and
indicators to this effect m_astbe developed.
2. National Advisory Council for Development Cooperation, Recommendation on Development Cooperation and Combating Urban Poverty. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The
Hague, Netherlands, March 1994, No. 103, p. 3.
618
JOURNAL OF PHILIPPINE
DEVELOPMENT
Productivity, growth and income increases are inadequate indicators of
rural development particularly if they have been achieved through the
"mining" rather than "husbanding" of resources. A sustained, renewedand
productive natural resource base achieved through viable institutional
arrangements will not be antithetical to urban development but will be its
strong underpinning. The challenge in this is very great indeed because it
will require supportive policies, productive technologies, ecological literacy , innovative use and management of resources, creative structures for
relating to each other, resolving conflicts, learning together, etc. In this
regard, community-based resource management, and participatory approaches, among others, have been advocated and are actively being pursued but much more should be learned to make these operational on a larger
scale. We cannot always count on traditional systems because the world has
changed, and it is changing even more. We have to develop new traditions
under new circumstances of population pressure, resource depletion and
degradation.
Regarding agriculture, Lundren points out the tendency to "treat natural
resources as external to agriculture," hence many organizations have, as a
result, different programs for agriculture and natural resources. The reality,
he asserts, is that
"the most intensive, widespread, important and potentially (and
actually) most destructive form of natural resource management,
and without any comparison in developing countries, is agriculture
and related activities."
The more correct statement, he concludes, is that -"nature is made up of natural resources and the most important
form of natural resources management is agriculture." (Lundren
1993.)
On agriculture ,fatigue," for example, after 30 _,ears there is a cloud
in therice horizon. IRRI scientists have discovered a disturbing phenomenon:
HIGHLIGHTS OF PROCEEDINGS
619
"Long-term experiments show that yields from irrigated fields
that have continuously supported 2-3 rice crops a year have declined by as much as 40 percent over the past 25 years. This
declining yield occurs in both high and low input systems both on
and offthe IRRI Farm. 3
This and the preoccupation with sustainability issues is giving rise to
very exciting developments in agricultural systems research. Some honestto-goodness interdisciplinary work is taking place. Let me cite two exampies.
In pest management in rice, the simple recommendation of "no early
Spraying" is being designed on the basis of science-based knowledge on the
behavior of plants, insects and humans (Rapusas et al. 1994). Another is
farmer participation in the varietal evaluation of sweet potato. Instead of
starting from the breeding of new varieties, farmers are selecting from a
screened collection of improved, local, imported, and traditional potatoes.
In some instances, superior strains of degenerated but preferred varieties have been found, cleaned, regenerated, and given back to farmers
(Rasco 1994). In the process we are discovering that indigenous/local
knowledge, science and technology can come together productively and,
hopefully, in a more sustained fashion. Furthermore, we have also found
that subsistence production and commercialization are not opposite poles
in a linear model but often occur simultaneously and in opportunistic
combinations with nonfarm livelihood strategies. Plant genetic resources,
farmers' rights, and intellectual property rights are very Contentious issues
which require creative social science research beyond ideology.
Agriculture, therefore, is not a finished task and will not go away simply
because a higher proportion of the population has been classified as urban.
The urban poor would become poorer if food production were to decline.
In fact, agriculture has become much more complex, and thepeople dimension has become more demanding of the human intellect and the human
spirit. It needs the best of science, including social science.
3. IRRI Hotline, Can we keep it up? IRRI-NARS Scientists Investigate Yield Decline, IRR1,
Vol. 2. No. 6, June 1992.
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JOURNALOF PHILIPPINE DEVELOPMENT
Finally, let me thank PIDS, particularly Jennifer Liguton and her staff
for putting this symposium together; IDRC for making the publication
possible; and Randy Spence for being here. In PIDS, I have always found
rigor and relevance (and will continue to expect these); in ]DRC, I learned
internationality and humanity in development perspective. To be honored
by colleagues with such excellent papers is reward enough. It makes all
those years and the coming ones worthwhile indeed!
in the golden girls, I found a lifetime of loyal friendships hard to
duplicate anywhere.
Ateneo de Manila made me part of the culture of Tao Para sa Kapwa
(a man for his fellowmen) in giving me an konoris causa.
The University of the Philippines gave me the freedom to be free, to
define and do what I have chosen to do. To President Emil Q. Javier, the
"University in the Service of the Nation" is a laudable vision but I would
modify it slightly to say: The University should lead the nation for it is in
leading that it serves but it has to earn its right to lead through excellence.
Thank you all for making my day!
HIGHLIGHTS OF PROCEEDINGS
621
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bahr, J. and G. Mertins. Urbanization in Latin America: Applied Geography
and Development, Vol. 4, 1993, pp. 89-109.
Balisacan, A. "Rural Development in the Philippines: Patterns, Constraints
and Responses." Paper presented at the Symposium on Structures and
Reforms for Rural Development in the Philippines, AIT Hotel, Quezon
City, March 17, 1993.
Lundren, B. Sustainable Management of Natural Resources. Repor t prepared for SIDA, Stockholm, Sweden, May 27, 1993.
Rapusas, H.R., C. Dedolph, M. M. Escalada and K. L. Heong. Workshop
Report: Message Design for a Campaign to Encourage Farmers'
Participation in Experimenting Insecticide Spraying in Vietnam. Ho
Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Rice IPM Network, May 25-28, 1994.
Rasco, E. T. Jr. Coordinators'Report,
1993-94, Southeast Asian Program
for Potato Research and Development. Los Bafios, Laguna, Philippines,
SAPPRAD, 1994.