IF you were discerning enough or if you have farmed long enough, the first thing that you will notice about William Dar, the Agriculture secretary, is his utter and unapologetic shamelessness. Late last year, he plastered the main offices of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in Quezon City with giant tarpaulins that said, “Buy local.” That year, the country imported more than 2.2 million metric tons of rice, the top importer in the world along with China.

The previous year, the country imported a record-high 3.1 million metric tons of rice, the global record that year, some half a million tons more than China’s rice imports. That’s “Buy local, eat local” for Mr. Dar.