I have been busy for the past days. That’s the reason I failed to update my blog. At least today, I have a free time to be in front of my computer. I asked myself, what is the issue that I have to write in my blog. well, I suppose the number issue is about the rice crisis in the Philippines. Is there really a rice crisis?
I believe there is no rice crisis. What we have is leadership crisis. The food supply we are facing now is seemingly the result of the lack of attention given to our farmers by our national leaders. If the government will only attend to the plight of the farmers then we will not be facing this problem now. Instead of investing millions of money in projects open to corruption, our government should provide incentives and support to our farmers. For instance, irrigation should be improved. Buying price of rice has to be increased so that filipinos will be encouraged to invest in farming.
During the first term of the former President Ferdinand Marcos the Philippines was a rice exporting country. Now, we are the number one country in the world that is importing rice. What a shame. Our neighboring countries like Vietnam and Thailand have overtaken us in rice production. But remember these countries improved their rice production through the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) which is located in the Philippines. Why did it happen? Well, the farmers of these countries receive support and assistance from their government.
If our government leaders do the necessary support to our farmers, there is no reason that we cannot solve this rice crisis in our country. The time to act is now. Not tomorrow.
