Entrepreneurial Farmer

Ambrosio R. Villorente

Partylist Origin

Commonwealth Act 85 was a law enacted during the Commonwealth period. It mandated for the allotment of 5 percent of the General Fund of a province to constitute Agricultural fund for the provincial development of agriculture in the Philippines.

After the Second World War, the Philippines was highly devastated. There was no industry to talk about. The people were too poor. There was less employment, food was scanty. There was the problem of how to rehabilitate the Philippines. 

The United States of America sent the Bell Mission to the Philippines to study and recommend solutions how to effect immediate and fast economic rehabilitation of the Philippines.

After a judicious and thorough study, the Bell Mission among others recommended for the rehabilitation of Philippines Agriculture, the country being primarily agricultural with both soil and climate highly favorable for agriculture such as the production of crops and livestock. It recommended for the rapid dissemination of useful agricultural information to increase agriculture production, processing and utilization of farm products of the farmers. 

The Bell Mission recommended to draft, approve and implement a massive diffusion of recommended agriculture practices through the cooperative agricultural extension service patterned after that of the United States.

Agricultural extension services in the US is performed by the state universities. However, it was not done in the Philippines for at that period, only two agricultural colleges existed in the Philippines: one in Laguna – UP at Los Baños and one in Nueva Ecija–Central Luzon State University.

Therefore, after the return of independence in 1946, the Philippines legislature approved Republic Act No. 680 which created the Bureau of Agricultural Extension. RA 680 was signed by President Elpidio Quirino on July 16, 1952. CA No. 85 was repealed. Full implementation of RA 680 started in 1954. 

The Bureau of Agricultural Extension (BAEx) was organized to improve the economic well being of the farm people including the fisher folks. BAEx was mandated to implement massive agricultural and home economics programs.

To assist the farm families, BAEx organized three technical divisions which were Agricultural Programs, Home Economics Programs, and Rural Youth Programs Division. These three divisions were fully supported by the administrative division. 

Headed by a director, BAEx was under the direct control and supervision of the Secretary, Department of Agriculture (DA).  

The three technical divisions adopted the “farm family approach” in agriculture productivity. The farmers are assisted in the adoption and utilization of technology to increase production and net income. The housewives were assisted in home making, foods and child care among others. 

The rural youth were assisted to develop themselves into either future progressive farmers or home makers. All the scientific and recommended technologies were imparted through mass approach like radio and print media. Demonstration farms were put up as show windows. Farm and home visits, meetings, trainings were done to hasten technologies adoptions. 

The farmers were organized as farmers association, rural improvement club for women and 4-H club for the out of school youth.

In 1973, I was lucky to be promoted to the position of chief, agricultural programs division. The promotion enabled me to be the Executive Secretary of the Federation of Farmers Association of the Philippines (FFAP).

It also enabled me to participate in meetings concerning planning and policy formulation in the DA. 

Believing that all laws, policies, programs, and projects concern all the people, I advocated for the inclusion of the farmers representatives to some committees in the DA. The majority supported me. The farmers were represented in the “Rice and Corn Production Coordinating Council” in the DA. 

Being successful, I wrote a one page proposal to allow the president of FFAP to be member of Batasang Pambansa without any election to represent the farmer sector in the assembly. FFAP President Benjamin Bautista of Davao Del Sur indorsed it for approval. Agriculture Minister Arturo Tanco indorsed it to President Ferdinand Marcos who approved it. Luis Taruc and Jose Cervantes representing Luzon were appointed, Rolando Bayot of Mambusao, Capiz represented Visayas and Omar Dionalan, provincial agriculturist of Lanao del Sur represented Mindanao. With Agriculture sector, other marginalized sectors like Labor and Womens were also appointed assemblymen to the Batasang Pambansa. 

But it was short live. President Cory Aquino dissolved the Batasang Pambansa. She organized the Constitutional Commission which drafted the 1987 Constitution which provided for the Partylist representation coming from marginalized sectors of society in the law making body. 

Now, they must campaign and win in an election to qualify as congressman.

How can the depressed, oppressed and less privilege members of society participate in Governance? They have no resources to wage a national campaign in an election. /MP