Speech of Vice President Jejomar C. Binay during the Induction of Officers of the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association, Inc. (PBGEA)

Davao City, 19 November 2011, 12 p.m.

Maayong buntag kaninyong tanan.

I thank you for your very warm welcome. I am happy to have made it to Davao today. Some weeks ago, I was scheduled to visit this fair city but just as I was to board my flight, we were told that weather conditions would not permit us to land. Fortunately the sun saw us off this morning and now, I am privileged to be surrounded by the captains of agriculture.

In the days of old, it was expected that a son or daughter would take up their father’s work when the time came. This was natural, since our economy was dominantly agricultural and the family farm was the most certain source of livelihood for everyone. And a decent livelihood could be had whether one planted rice, coconut, abaca, sugar or bananas.

Today, our world is driven by technology instead of tractors and sadly, fewer of our young people want to invest their talents in agriculture. Children of farmers want to be office workers in Manila, while the children of tycoons devote serious resources and effort to farming in the provinces. Yes, the emerging professions are important, and we cannot lag behind in the digital age, but it is now that we should learn to explore and apply new technologies to our agriculture in order to enhance our food security and increase the value of our exports.

Your association said it well: “It takes a good land, the right climate and plenty of hard work to develop and maintain a globally-competitive export banana industry.”

Lately, that work has become a bit harder and we all have to employ our greatest powers in order to protect this industry which contributes around $720 million in export earnings yearly.

One of the greatest threats is the Fusarium wilt disease which has been spreading and has already infected about 1,200 hectares of banana plantations. Left unchecked, this plague could further infect our productive areas and deny our planters much needed revenue. We are all aware of what Fusarium did to Central America and the Caribbean in the 60s. And even in the 90s, this disease caused wipe-outs in the banana industries of our Malaysian and Indonesian neighbors.

As the country’s fifth largest export industry, and a major source of livelihood for the people of Mindanao, we must address this problem quickly. Over 300,000 families stand to be affected and I am certain that your association will work tirelessly with local and national government units to end this threat. I assure you that we are concerned, and if there is anything you need in order to fight this plague, then I am here to listen and more importantly, to bring your voice to the necessary channels in Manila.

Moving beyond this threat, I would like to encourage the officers and the planters to explore new products and industries that can be created or supported by the growing of bananas. I am not a scientist or agriculturist, but I understand that banana stalks can also be used as a culture for mushrooms, another potential high-value crop. Aside from being a protein source, some varieties are used for medicinal or pharmaceutical applications. Positive developments in this area could help bolster our fledgling herbal medicine industries. These are supplementary opportunities which you may wish to study and pursue.

Also, the local textile industry is not as vibrant as it used to be. But perhaps we can examine how indigenous materials can be utilized to create high-value materials for both garment and household uses. What we have lost in volume over the years, perhaps we can regain in terms of export value.

Our Chinese neighbors are now using malunggay bark for the production of some fabric types. In Bicolandia, there is a factory that uses abaca to create wall coverings and window treatments such as roll-down shades. The product is world class and until recently, was exclusively for export to the United States. In Aklan and Laguna, weavers use pineapple fiber to create silk for our barong tagalog, and some have begun using a blend of pineapple and banana fiber to create new fabrics for formal wear.

In Quezon, there are power generating plants that are fueled by agricultural waste from coconut production, and I am told similar technologies that use any type of agricultural waste also exist. These advancements could solve a lot of the electrification requirements of our farmlands, and are very clean sources of electrical power.

The world is hungry for products that are all-natural, organic, earth-friendly and environmentally safe. Are these not the products of the land we stand on and that your hands have helped harvest? And as the days pass, we are constantly discovering technologies that allow us to use our crops completely and efficiently. Science is continually showing us new ways to turn trash into treasure. This opens a wide avenue of opportunities for your association, if you are willing to work with other sectors to extract value-added goods from your byproducts.

In all this, we see that technology is not a threat to agriculture. It is an ally that we must harness and employ. To the newly-inducted officers, I ask that you take your industry to a higher plane. Show our children all that we can extract from the land through hard work and human ingenuity. Prove to the next generations that our soil is one of our greatest blessings and a storehouse of vast wealth. I assure you that if you succeed, many of the young will devote their talents to making our farming industry one of the best in the world.

For our part, I assure you of the President’s concern and support. Coming from an agricultural center, he is sensitive to the importance of our crops and the contributions of our farmers to our nation’s welfare.

I also firmly believe that the establishment of a research institute specific to your industry is necessary and crucial to the growth of our banana growing areas. Given your thrusts and our goals, I believe this will find a receptive ear in our beloved President Aquino, and you have my word that I will relay to him the concerns and issues that you have presented to me today.

The great nations of the world are often represented by their skyscrapers and skylines. Few are aware that those centers were built and are still supported by strong agricultural sectors. Let us work hard together to fuel the energies in the fields. One day, the harvest will be ripe and all Filipinos can proudly share in the bounty.

Daghang salamat kaninyong tanan.  Mabuhay kayong lahat!