PH Aggie Mechanization: Ernesto M Ordoñez & His Law Of Diminishing Returns

Images: tractor from PNG[1], sign from Shutterstock[2]. Where is that point of diminishing returns beginning or going in an agricultural mechanization?

That is my bold image of Ernesto M Ordoñez who has been insisting singly on agricultural mechanization all these years, at least since 20 June 2013 when President Noynoy Aquino signed the Agriculture and Fisheries Mechanization Law (“The Agriculture Mechanization Law[3],” EM Ordoñez, business.inquirer.net).

That was 7 years ago. Now comes the same Mr Ordoñez swearing that the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act, AFMA, “should be implemented.” In his latest Inquirer column, Mr Ordoñez recommends that aggie mechanization proceed from national to local government units (“‘Bayanihan’ In Agriculture[4],” 15 May 2020, Inquirer.net). By “bayanihan,” he quotes from Lexico.com to mean (a) “a traditional system of mutual assistance in which members of a community work together to accomplish a difficult task” and (b) “a spirit of civic unity and cooperation among Filipinos.” We lack both of that, Mr Ordoñez says, and that is why our agriculture grew by an average of only 1.6% in the last 6 years.

Now, now, Mr Ordoñez, between 20 June 2013 and 15 May 2020, President Rodrigo Duterte appointed William Dar on 05 August 2019, and that same day, he came up with his “The New Thinking For Agriculture,” which for all intents and contents goes beyond your “Agricultural Mechanization” and/or your Bayanihan obsession.

Mr Ordoñez claims that there are no new things in Manong Willie’s New Thinking for Agriculture, because already they were fleshed out in the AFMA in 1997, or 23 years ago.

Wrong, Mr Ordoñez. The AFMA contains nothing similar to the integrated “New Thinking For Agriculture” and the “8 paradigms” that nourish it. Your view of national aggie stimulation has been suffering from systemic degradation for the last 23 years!

Manong Willie’s “The New Thinking For Agriculture” has remained whole while your “Agricultural Mechanization Law” has deteriorated over the years. Mechanization is only 10% max of “The New Thinking For Agriculture”  that is composed of 8 separate and yet interconnected paradigms, which are:

(1) Modernization.
(2) Industrialization.
(3) Promotion of exports.
(4) Consolidation of small- and medium-sized farms
(5) Infrastructure development.
(6) Higher budget & investment.
(7) Legislative support.
(8) Roadmap development.

Mr Ordoñez, your “Mechanization” is an important part but not even 50% of what “Modernization of PH Agriculture” requires. If you insist only on mechanization of PH agriculture, your returns will diminish over the years!

Manong Willie’s thinking is holistic, where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, as according to the philosopher Aristotle. In contrast, Mr Ordoñez, your insistence on Mechanization is mechanistic thinking of the progress of PH agriculture. “Mechanistic thinking focuses on “what,” and holistic thinking digs into “why” – Pearl Zhu. Ms Pearl is “an innovative ‘Corporate Global Executive’ with more than 21 years of technical and business working experience in strategic planning[5].” Mr Ordoñez, I will gladly dig into Ms Pearl’s “why” anytime, never into your “what!”@517

 

 

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[1] https://www.pngfuel.com/free-png/narze

[2] https://www.shutterstock.com/search/diminishing+returns

[3] https://business.inquirer.net/128217/the-agriculture-mechanization-law

[4] https://business.inquirer.net/297300/bayanihan-in-agriculture?fbclid=IwAR3Y1x3vgT2gelXjwQrgLB8DTLhlGE9reW1j1DesRaBjLdrwvCfrg-4Bjhc

[5] https://www.cio.com/author/Pearl-Zhu/