By Anthony A. Araos
The rice crisis is looming and most Filipinos are worrying about it. Yet, most Ifugao folks are not feeling away thus, are seemingly not included in the equation.
Most Filipinos say nothing good happened with government programs and projects to increase rice yield in recent years. That’s troubling- if indeed production is declining, why not adopt a better one. That’s not the way of thinking that will resolve the current mess.
It is the study for present-day program was thorough and that there are really gains, the benefits are clearly visible.
A new program then should be pursued. Accompanied by stringent study, this program is the order of the day. No more excuses or alibis. The intended effect of this urgent move is surely tied up to the assurance that funds are not wasted by corruption. It is very hard to imagine a scenario where officials continue to advance their plunderous interests in the agriculture sector during the remaining years of the present dispensation.
This is why statistics matter most- not in brief moments of chanting and beating of gongs, but in prolonged moments of uncertainty. When action must be taken, it is these figures that are considered essential.
It is a fact that Filipinos consume 17 to 18 million metric tons of rice a year. On the supply side, Filipino rice farmers produce only 12 to 13 million metric tons of rice from a mere six percent of land area of the entire country devoted to rice farming.
The Philippine farming world is getting smaller and smaller each day. Farmers are among the “poorest of the poor.” Uncertainty has become part of each second of the day in the soil tillers operating environment- in the rice fields to be more precise.
If anything, the farmer’s mounting difficulties suggest swift and decisive action. Emanating from sensible sources, of course!
Notably, this issue doesn’t end with the abovementioned numbers, for there is also the concern for hybrid seeds.
Hybrid rice requires the use of expensive chemical fertilizers and pesticides and that such seeds cannot be secured. This means that farming should constantly go to the companies selling hybrid rice seeds during the planting season. For short, those who benefit from the growth of palay- an important agricultural product, or the country’s staple (rice as it ends up on the table) are only the rich farmers (only a few of them), landlords and patent holders of hybrid rice. Again, truth to tell, only a handful individuals are happy.
Moreover, the high cost of hybrid seeds, being 10 to 15 times higher the ordinary seeds of rice discourages poor farmers from taking advantage of the hybrid technology. That doesn’t bode well for the widest majority of men and women in the agriculture sector; for their lives are in worse shape now. Why do they still live in abject poverty? Good question. For the Ifugao farmer, what is left for him to plant? Unprofitable Tinawon (native) rice or hybrid rice? Good question. Very good.**
