The OFW threat and the agriculture initiative

It is disheartening to note that the government refuses to acknowledge the problem that is now hitting our overseas Filipino workers (OFW) in the Middle East, with the huge drop in crude oil prices. That precipitous decline in oil prices by almost 70 percent, from a high of over $100 a barrel, has already resulted in a host of financial problems for Middle East countries.

Many contractors in Saudi Arabia, Iran and other oilfields have already suffered huge financial losses as a result of the drop in crude-oil prices to less than $30 a barrel that many of our countrymen are now unable to get their salaries on time, with many of them suffering delays of up to five months.

Toots Ople, daughter of the late former Sen. Blas Ople, has intimated that she had been receiving complaints from OFWs in Saudi Arabia and other Mideast countries who lost their jobs because of the financial problems of the oilfield contractors.

Ople, who heads an advocacy concerning OFW problems, told the Samahang Plaridel’s Kapihan sa Manila Hotel about the worsening problem and the refusal of the government agencies, notably the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to acknowledge it.

This is something worrisome because the refusal of the government to acknowledge the OFW problem carries with it the added weight of a catastrophic economic event, as hundreds of the OFWs start coming home after losing their jobs in the Middle East.

And since the government is “in denial” as far as this OFW problem is concerned, it follows that it has not come up with a solution; indeed, how does one solve a problem that “does not exist?”

And yet, there are solutions, if only the government admits there, indeed, is a problem, and puts its heart and mind to solving it, and fast. Because even as our officials dither, our foreign-exchange reserves, now at $80 billion, could be hit hard in the coming days.

There is, for instance, the agricultural initiative awaiting take-ups from the government, since this sector could provide the kind of jobs that displaced OFWs could turn to. Also, academe, the private sector and the business organizations can come up with other ways to have the displaced OFWs redeem their self-worth by providing them jobs that match their skills to supplant the employment they lost in the Middle East.

Speaking of agricultural initiatives, there is now a new breed of farmers that has produced millionaires in their own right by just being in the agriculture business (agribusiness) sector. And what is surprising to know is that these same millionaires once aspired to work in the Middle East but many came back disillusioned, with some even losing money to scam artists even before they could leave the country.

Last week, we interviewed some of these newly minted millionaires in Quezon province. What is noteworthy is that they themselves did not know then that they would be successful in their chosen field. And yet, they have made their pile in agriculture, with many of them branching out to other kinds of businesses as a result of their initial successful foray in the agri sector.

A fortnight ago, we were invited by Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala to witness the establishment of a trading post in Sariaya, Quezon. He earlier told the Kapihan sa Manila Hotel about the way the Sariaya trading post has been changing the economic demographics in the area.

This trading post, dubbed Sentrong Pamilihan ng Produktong Agrikultura sa Quezon, has become so successful in providing jobs, not to mention minting new millionaires, that the agriculture department is now trying to replicate this kind of trading posts all over the country.

The Sariaya trading post takes care of marketing the vegetables and fruits produced by farmers from Quezon and as far as Leyte and Baguio. Thus, traders converge in the area to buy the farm produce, in the process removing one layer of middlemen.

It is this agriculture initiative that the government can take to heart so as to save the income-earning potential of the OFWs threatened with displacement in the Middle East. We repeat, the sooner the government acknowledges the problem, the sooner the solutions can be put in place.