The Road Not Taken is a Rice Field

The narrow road between finance and agriculture is as well trodden as a rice field. 

I traded my dark blue suit for a comfortable linen shirt, loosely buttoned to save me from the heat.  Perhaps it is understandable the bankers I've met here seem neither moved nor convinced by my  journey--the rice field is not a road after all.

But agriculture--with all its problems--beckons with opportunities.  The Philippines has 7.19 million hectares of farm land exposed to the volatile forces of nature.  The only 'hedge' in this part of the world is to spray chemicals to guard against disease or harmful insects.

Not much has changed in the average farm where an over-reliance on manual labor has long been the norm, including the application of pesticides.  As a consumer, it is heartbreaking to see farmhands put their health at risk to get food your plate. 

Photo:  Mindanews

Intuitively, I thought that the Philippines was well behind its Asian peers in farm technology.  That's somewhat true, but the bigger surprise is how countries like China and Thailand were not significantly ahead despite deeper pockets.  According to DJI, China and Thailand achieved only 3% and 1% mechanization for chemical spray. By comparison, Japan and the United States are around 70%. 

While banks may spend more on technology than farms, it's important to note that both rely on the same technological foundation:  programming languages and processing capacity.   All the technology sets that produced the iPhone is making its way to agriculture.  

Prime Minister Narendra Modi probably sensed the cusp of change when he came to the International Rice Research Institute yesterday.  For instance, he was shown resilient rice varieties that can withstand flooding for up to 2 weeks.  But he was particularly taken by the DJI Agras on display and asked for it to be flown, later Tweeting his experience. 


It is reassuring to see the Prime Minister in the same rice fields of this, my new journey.