Rolando T. Dy, Ph. D.
Executive Director
Center for Food and Agri Business
University of Asia and the Pacific
(Part2)
In Thailand, the main drivers of growth were palm oil and rubber. Thailand is the third largest palm oil producer after Indonesia and Malaysia, and the biggest producer/exporter of natural rubber.
Oil-palm harvested areas rose to 462,000 hectares in 2008 from only 11,000 hectares in 1980.
Rubber areas expanded to 1.8 million hectares from 1.2 million hectares. The high production was driven by higher farm yield.
Vietnam, on the other hand, provides an outstanding example of tree-crop development. From negligible exports in 1980, it expanded to $2.4 billion in 2008. The leading drivers were coffee, cashew and rubber. The country posted dramatic changes since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. Among the highlights are:
Expansion of rubber harvested areas to 632,000 hectares in 2008 from only 88,000 hectares in 1908.
Massive increases in areas to 531,000 hectares from 33,000 hectares during the same period
Explosive growth of cashew areas to 403,000 hectares from 8,000 hectares in the same period.
Now, where is the Philippines in the picture? It failed in many respects. Despite its natural endowments for tree-crops, the country has added less than 300,000 hectares over 30 years as compared to millions of hectares by its more dynamic neighbors.
Oil palm harvested areas grew to only 22,000 hectares in 2008 from 6,000 hectares in 1980, despite large potentials in Mindanao and Palawan.
Rubber areas expanded to 123,000 hectares from 54,000 hectares in the same period (although the author doubts the figures). Compare this with experts’ estimate of the potential of at least 500,000 hectares.
Coffee areas grew to123,000 hectares from 102,000 hectares in the same period. While the areas grew, many are senile and unproductive.
Coconut areas, the largest of all, increased to 3.4 million hectares in 2008 from 3.2 million hectares in 1980, or a gain of only 144,000 hectares! Given that over one million hectares are senile, this is not a major movement.
Poverty Reduction
Tree-crops development plays a key role in rural poverty reduction in Southeast Asia. In Indonesia, tree-crops development has contributed to rural employment and poverty reduction. Some six million rural households depend on tree-crops for employment and livelihood.
In Malaysia, the Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA) resettled 133,000 poor families in mostly oil-palm estates and today enjoy better quality of life. The sincerity of intention and single-mindedness of purpose by former Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak in the late 1950s and 1960s as well as a hands-on approach to implementation are among the success factors of FELDA. Although the number of beneficiaries for the Federal Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority (FELCRA) were smaller, the World Bank estimated in 1987 that the FELCRA settlers had 44 percent to 100 percent higher farm incomes than those for comparable holdings.
Similar observations can be made for Thailand and Vietnam. The former pushed for rubber development, and the latter, coffee, rubber, and cashews.
Meanwhile, in the Philippines, very limited progress has been made, contributing to a high level of poverty. This is dramatically evident in the coconut sector.
Where do we go from here?
The record of the Philippines is dismal. There is a lack of long-term program for coconut replanting and intercropping, as well as promotion of oil-palm and rubber, crops where the country has a comparative advantage. The factors which hindered tree-crop development in the Philippines can be traced to several factors:
A lack of genuine tree-crop strategy. This is in part because of the lack of appreciation of the role of tree-crops in poverty reduction, exports and import substitution, and crop diversification. To be continued
