Mennonite
Central
Committee

Economic Globalization

By: Maria Linder-Hess

Summary: As the Philippines continues to open its economy to imports, farmers in the Cordillera mountains of northern Philippines fear they will lose markets for their locally grown vegetables.

Filipino farmer Bernardo Pelignan rolls into La Trinidad Trading Post before dawn, his bright blue "jeepney" truck piled high with hundreds of fresh cabbages. The streets of La Trinidad are already filled with all sorts of vehicles, as farmers haul their loads of broccoli, onions, carrots, beets and strawberries to market.

The engine roars as Pelignan shifts into low gear, heading first to the wholesaler who purchases most of the cabbage, then to a nearby farmers' market to sell the leftovers.

In La Trinidad, vegetables grown in the mountains of northern Luzon island — called the Cordilleras or the "uplands" — are purchased by farm traders and distributors who then truck the crops south to the Philippine capital, Manila.

Pelignan drives from his mountain farm down narrow, curving roads to La Trinidad every other morning. He and other farmers in the Cordilleras work hard for a modest income, knowing they provide valuable products. They supply the rest of the Philippines, which is mainly tropical, with vegetables that grow in a cooler climate. But demand for their crops is dwindling.

In recent years their vegetables have been bringing less money, as produce from places like Australia and China is increasingly imported into Manila — due in part to the Philippines' membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO). Farmers here, who come from local indigenous groups, fear their vegetables may soon have no market.

As the Philippines continues to open its economy to foreign trade and investment, indigenous peoples in the Cordilleras are struggling to protect their livelihood and land. Many feel threatened by the trade agreements that governments tout as development and progress. How can small farmers stand up to the mighty forces of globalization?

In today's world economic globalization affects nearly every person, but it poses unique challenges to indigenous peoples. In most countries, native peoples have little voice in government, and their pristine ancestral lands are coveted by corporations. Indigenous farmers typically farm small plots and sell their crops locally; their farms don't scale up to the size and technology necessary for export.

The indigenous peoples of the Cordilleras have lived in the mountains for generations. They make up roughly 2 percent of Philippines' population and come from more than 20 ethno-linguistic sub groups. Many of their age-old villages still exist, with stone-terraced rice paddies reaching like stairways into the clouds. Some communities are accessible only by footpaths. In the past century, Cordilleras farmers began planting cash crops, including vegetables, coffee and beans. Increasingly people who lived in these villages are moving to towns and cities.

The Cordilleras peoples have long suffered government neglect in terms of education, health care and other services. Their lands have been defaced by international large-scale mining operations and by hydro-electric plants that power cities further south.

MCC supports local indigenous people's organizations, such as Uplands Development Institute (UDI), that advocate for indigenous rights. UDI has been campaigning against mining in areas where indigenous groups live. Now the organization is also assisting indigenous farmers who fear that new trade policies will affect their markets. \

In an attempt to advance its economy, the Philippines joined the WTO in 1995. Poverty is an everyday reality for most people in the Philippines, which struggles with an annual population growth of more than 2 percent — among the highest in the world. Membership in the WTO increases poor countries' opportunities to export their products; the developed world is more willing to deal with countries that are changing over to the free trade/free market model.

But changes in economic policies can come at a serious cost to small farmers. Cheap, imported vegetables jeopardize the need for vegetables from the Cordilleras. According to global trade economics, the Philippines should produce what it can market at mass quantities and high quality. Cordilleras vegetables won't make that cut.

UDI supports Cordilleras farmers' efforts to take their concerns to the government. Each week, a group travels from La Trinidad to Manila to meet with officials and give their cause more visibility. They hope to convince the government to find ways to protect local farmers within the WTO framework. Currently, the Philippine government is regulating imported produce to some extent. But farmers still compete with illegal shipments from China.

The Philippines will be fully integrated into the WTO in 2005, which is creating a sense of urgency among Filipino farmers. From Pelignan's viewpoint, his future as a vegetable farmer doesn't look good.

"Before the imports, we were able to recover our expenses," says Pelignan, the father of seven children. "Now, for about the past three years, we are not really making money. I'm not able to pay debts because of the lower prices, and I've been making purchases on credit."

Farmers here say that carrots, which they can produce for about 10 pesos per kilo, used to sell for 22 pesos per kilo. In summer 2002 they hit an all-time low — down to 4 pesos per kilo. The price has since risen, but the fluctuation makes Pelignan and other farmers nervous.

"I'm afraid our vegetables cannot compete with the quality of imports," he says. His cabbages will bounce all the way to Manila before being shipped or trucked again in the heat. By the time they reach a market, cabbages from the Cordilleras will look shabby compared to vegetables packed and shipped in refrigerated containers.

If it were up to Pelignan, the Philippines would pull out of the WTO. "I'm hoping the government will withdraw. The Cordilleras can provide for the rest of the Philippines. I'm hoping they do not open to imports," he says.

These farmers' production and labor costs are relatively low, but their limited land and lack of high-tech equipment leave them disadvantaged. Filipino farmers are not alone. More than 90 percent of the world's farmers live in the developing world. Now global competition threatens to nudge from them the few opportunities they have to be self-sufficient.

Filipino farmers also lack the safety net of government subsidies. While a drop in the world market price for vegetables can pull a Filipino farmer under, some high-income countries, including the United States, funnel millions of dollars per day into farm subsidies.

Small-scale farmers around the world, including those from wealthy nations, are struggling to keep up with consumers' demands for high quality foods at cheap prices. Producing these kinds of harvests requires large, expansive farms that produce one or two specialty crops.

Not even remote farms in the Cordilleras can escape this world-wide pressure.

When you look at the magnitude of the forces of globalization — even just the finances of one wealthy company — it is easy for indigenous people to feel hopeless, says Philian Weygan, UDI director who, like most UDI staff, is from the Cordilleras. "But the people still have hope," she says, then adds, "Maybe we are crazy for trying to stand up to these massive forces."

Weygan says 2005 may or may not bring dramatic change for Cordilleras farmers. If imports are readily available and cheaper than local vegetables, then local farmers will have to find new approaches to farming or leave the trade all together. In some areas of the Philippines, particularly on Mindanao island, farmers have already had to sell their land to agribusinesses that run huge pineapple and banana farms.

UDI is exploring ways to support indigenous farmers and has organized forums to gather the farmers' concerns and ideas. Its training center is tucked into a valley near the city of La Trinidad. The center's third floor — which is still in process, with scaffolding and thatch standing in for walls — offers crystal clear air and an inspiring view of the area's deciduous trees. Here UDI holds forums and offers training in organic farming and acupuncture. It recently opened the School of Indigenous People's Advocacy, where indigenous peoples in the Cordilleras learn about their rights and how national and world events are affecting them.

At a demonstration garden outside the UDI training center, staff and student interns raise medicinal plants and other traditional plants that may have a specialized market. Eventually they hope to establish a seed bank where local farmers can trade seeds and ideas.

Some UDI staff are encouraging people to farm organically, which may give them an edge over fluctuating market prices, meanwhile protecting their precious lands.

Back at La Trinidad farmers' market, as customers pick through his pile of cabbage, Pelignan ponders the future. He says he's not sure what alternatives he has. He hopes the government will not allow imports. He hopes it will defend Cordilleras farmers.

For today, Pelignan is encouraged by the chaos at La Trinidad, the noises and traffic that keep him in business. What this marketplace will be like in two, five or 10 years is uncertain. Perhaps it will continue as a hub for vegetable farmers and distributors. Or, perhaps, it will fall silent.

- This article that first appeared in the Nov. 2003 issue of a Common Place magazine.

 

Maria Linder-Hess is an MCC writer.

Letter of Response Jeff Reimer (former MCC-Bangladesh, 1994-1997)