Work on working together

With the appointment of businessman Francisco “Kiko” Laurel as full time Secretary of Agriculture, the tables are now turned.

Yes, the tables have been turned on all of us who wanted a full time secretary who could focus on all our agricultural concerns as well as act on the tons of unsolicited advice and agenda. Much like the saying “Put your money where your mouth is,” we must now “work on working together” with the new secretary, instead of being spectators.

Knowing all the disappointments we collectively share from failed leadership, the corruption and promotion of vested commercial interests in the DA and the consequences of obstructionist and uncooperative positions, we would all be stupid to continue separately promoting interests and concerns or playing safe and not telling the new secretary who the dirty rats are in the building as well as making earnest efforts to help him with humility.

As a media practitioner and being pro-local agriculture, I have had the privilege to interview and meet up with many leaders and experts in the agriculture industry. After some time, I have come to realize that the reason why the agricultural industry does not get the attention and priority it deserves is because all the leaders, groups, sectors, etc. have individually done things on their own, thereby becoming so small and inconsequential to the big picture.

They have kept within their own little sector, cooperative or association and have not focused on achieving the numbers and the presence that get the media’s attention which in turn makes politicians listen and they have refused to recognize that in order to change what’s wrong in the system, you must be in the system.

Politicians and media pay attention to numbers and followers, almost like what kids do now in social media. Unless you have many followers, get thousands of likes or subscribers, you’re not really an influencer. For the leaders of agricultural organizations, those numbers remain hidden, dormant and unfelt.

The truth is millions of people are in agriculture, but they have been spread out among sectors, areas, regions or specializations to the point that each group has thinned out the millions down to