Prosperity, not just sufficiency

A World Bank study published in 1999 reported that Science and technology, including the Green Revolution for agriculture, underpinned the economic and social gains in Asia over the past 30 years. Between 1970 and 1995, cereal production in Asia doubled, calorie availability per person increased by 24 percent, and real food prices halved.

Although the region’s population grew by 1 billion people, food production kept pace with population growth achieved largely through the application of science and technology -- the cultivation of high-yielding varieties (HYVs) of rice and wheat -- accompanied by expansion of irrigated areas, increases in fertilizer and pesticide use, and greater availability of credit.

Unfortunately, we have not seen the fruits of that green revolution in the Philippines. As cited by Henry Lim Bon Liong, CEO of SL Agritech Corporation, when he talked about the rise of the super hybrid rice in the Philippines during the PMA 2008 Agora Conference, “between 1982 and 2000, average world prices of rice have been falling by 0.58% yearly. In contrast, Philippine wholesale prices have been rising by 10.60% yearly suggesting that production has been declining.”

Right to food is a basic human right. Food security is a move towards securing that right. The goal of the Philippine government has been towards rice sufficiency. Sufficiency however is a fancy term that is difficult to attain. First, sufficiency is relative. Its magnitude and complexity change over time. As you reach the goal of sufficiency based on certain parameters defined 10 years ago, conditions and challenges change.

Moreover, aiming for ‘just enough’ or ‘sufficiency, is usually counterproductive. It hardly inspires people to action. What does? A vision that is drastically transforming. A vision that positively alters the lives of our children and our children’s children. From insufficiency to prosperity, not just sufficiency.

Economist Paul Pilzner, author of several books including Economic Alchemy, Unlimited Wealth and God Wants us to be Rich, illustrates the urgency of this paradigm shift. He challenges the framework of economists about the need to manage limited resources arguing that it is based on an obsolete assumption – that resources are limited. He offers a new paradigm – the concept of unlimited wealth.

Henry Lim Bon Lion’s vision for a hybrid rice is greater than the millions of people that it will feed, and the billions of taxes that it will raise for government. It is a paradigm shift – very much consistent with Paul Pilzner’s new economics. It challenges the old order. Obsolete thinking. It demonstrates how knowledge can overcome adversity and transform society.

(This article is based on the author’s synopsis of Mr. Henry Lim Bon Liong’s presentation ‘The Rise of the Hybrid Rice during the PMA’s 2008 Agora conference.’ to comment, write to abfontanilla@yahoo.com or nick.fontanilla@gmail.com)