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The Philippine Rice Crisis: Pay the Price
| By pinoyfarmer | October 7, 2008 |  |
Rice accounts for up to 40% of the calorie intake of Filipinos. Meals are incomplete without it. The Philippines had gone from being a major exporter of rice in the 1960’s to the world’s largest importer today. This dependence makes the country vulnerable to price and supply fluctuations in the world market. Lack of focus on food security by successive Philippine governments contributed to this dependence. We need to increase agricultural output to re-join the ranks of the regions major rice producers to which we once belonged. Our future as a truly free and independent society depends on it.
My Reaction: This video has point on how to curb on the rice crisis in the Philippines by eating other carbo loaded foods like pasta and noodles. But culturally we Filipinos consider rice as our staple food.
But I think the main point of all the rice crisis is how to help our Filipino rice farmers. How we could make there rice farming profits increase. Like any other business, rice farming is there agribusiness and this is were they get financial wealth to support there family. Helping our farmers is no easy street. But there is a solution to every problem.
Factors and variables we should consider why we are having the said rice cisis:
1. We have only 4 million hectares to till rice according to GIS while Vietnam and Thailand have 9 million and 10 million hectares to till rice while keeping there population in control. That’s why they could export excess rice to other countries.
2. Irrigation system is less developed in our country, reason for less cultivated possible rice fields
3. Decreasing rice fields (either being sold or being foreclosed by banks or financial companies as collateral)
4. Increasing farm inputs like fertilizers and pesticides
5. Our population is increasing while rice farming area is decreasing (this is not good)
6. Government agricultural program has a flaw (admit it or not there is conflict of interest in the policies)
7. The main rice production in the Philippines is based in Luzon which is a typhoon and disaster proned area. Probability of damaged crops is high every year.
8. Vietnam and Thailand are in areas that are less proned to crops damage. They could have consistent supply for assurance of food security and a staple supply for there people.
9. Philippines is an island country, geographically its hard to consolidate the total rice production in our country to really see if we have excess or less supply of rice. We still have Visayas and Mindanao as rice production area.
10. There is agricultural subsidy but there is no transparency in the distribution of the money being used to give farmers farm inputs. (There is a conflict of interest obviously)
11. Higher population means higher urbanization rate thus possibility of a rice farm to be sold at a high price. You cannot blame farmers selling their farm at a high price.
12. Rice farmers decreasing rice profits. Thats the main reason they are complaining. Give them sufficient profits and they won’t complain. Remember these people also work 24/7 and is considered as one of the most physical demanding work in our country. Not everybody could till rice.
Source: Agriculture Philippines
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIEYgacQ5UM
Topics: Social Issues | 2 Comments »
October 7th, 2008 at 8:06 pm
HELPING OUR GOVERNMENT IN ITS FOOD PRODUCTION PROGRAM IS MY TOP PRIORITY WHY I WISH TO GO HOME FOR GOOD AFTER NEARLY THREE DECADES OF MY DESERT EMPLOYMENT. Thus, this is the essence why I have been writing and requesting from our National Government (Office of the President, Office of the Vice President and the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture) to support my noble objective.
I am for your information, is being employed by a multi-national corporation composed of six big agri-based international companies and is one of the reputable and pioneer corporations in the entire Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with European, American companies’ affiliations with regards to mechanized farming equipment, machineries, animals (poultry -annual production of which is more than 36 million broilers), feed milling operations (production output is more than 40 tons per hour) velero (vegetables & fruits) production, water drilling(up to 2,500 meters deep), irrigation operations and a lot more.
My simple request for FUNDING ASSISTANCE FOR MY ESTABLISHED BACKYARD HOG-RAISING PROJECT IN MARINDUQUE and the ESTABLISHMENT OF A SMALL SCALE FEED MILL from the above-mentioned authorities (President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Vice President Noli de Castro and DA Secretary Arthur Yap is nothing compared to the waste of our OFWs remittances being spent by unscrupulous government(civil)servants.
This is the main reason why I followed-up yesterday the matter which was known to DA Chief of Staff Atty. Bernie G. Fondevilla and Atty. Jesse H.T. Andres of the Office of Vice President Noli de Castro.
Referring to the letter sent by Atty. Fondevilla to Atty. Andres dated 21 August 2008, it has been stated that my letter request for funding assistance for my two livelihood projects was already forwarded to Regional Executive Director Antonio Gerondio of DA-Region-IV for appropriate action.
I just hope that it won’t end out there with nothing.
Should my requests be granted by our government, it would only mean generation of employment, assisting our impoverished citizens to achieve better lifestyle, sending their children to school and providing them extra income aside from ordinary fishing (hook & line) activities.
Our two established cooperatives: MONAGREN Agro-Producers Cooperative (MAPCO) and Marinduque Multi-Purpose Cooperative (MMPC) which are both my brainchild will be able to operate normally providing sufficient products and services to our people. In return, we will be able to sustain whatever development our organizations will achieve. In the long ran, that would mean
“development and positive insight towards food self sufficiency. More animals to be produced (through our cooperative’s Paiwi System of Hogs Fattening due to self feed production would as well mean, solving the shortage of live hogs for MONAGREN’s Meat Processing Project. Enough meat supply would mean, we could produce/ manufacture regularly without any intimidation and can offer our citizens quality value-added meat products at very reasonable prices like: longganisa, tapa, tocino and various hotdogs. Should our quality MONAGREN Meat Products became enormous, we can supply our distributors to be in the Metro Manila areas, thus enabling us to share bigger market.
MONAGREN hotdogs and other cured meat products are produced from freshly slaughtered hogs, seasoned with unique spice blend. Our Provincial Governor, Congressman, DTI Director, CDA, local DA Officials and DOST Region-IV Director support our aim to producing only the best meat products which are hygienically prepared.
May I therefore reiterate to Your Excellencies to please support my noble objective which I started from the very basic and funded from my hardly-earned income from my employment at the sizzling desert of Arabia for nearly three decades.
Kung ako’y inyong mapapagbigyan or matutulungan sa aking kahilingan, I may say na hindi kayo mabibigo sa akin sapagkat marami pa akong mga proyektong pangkabuhayang nais maisakatuparan. I just ran out of funds kaya ako humihiling sa inyong ako sana’y inyong matulungan at masuportahan once and for all.
Should you have any doubt about my claim, you can send representative/s to visit our barangay or you can verify from your DA Marinduque Provincial Branch to support my claim. They (DA employees) after all are as well our (MONAGREN’s) valued customers. And we are glad that they regularly patronize our high quality meat products.
Thank you very much and please let me know any development on my request for project’s funding assistance. My email addresses are as follows:
monagren2000@yahoo.com
monagren@hotmail.com
monagren@gmail.com
mmpcoop@gmail.com
GOD BLESS & MORE POWER!
Very sincerely,
ANTONIO (TONY) R. MONTERAS
OFW, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
//Monteras Agro Enterprises (MONAGREN)
Brgy. Lupac, Boac, Marinduque – 4900
Tel. No: 0063-42 332-2762
(Contact Person: Mrs. Herminia Monteras Raagas)
October 8th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Good luck Mr. Monteras. I hope our government will listen to your request. Thank you for your very noble dream of helping our country.
Harvey Losin
Cebu, Philippines