Media is very much part of this ball game. Yesterday we read in the PDI that a communications class in UP did a survey to find out who’s leading in the public consciousness. As expected, they discovered that those who were more in the news were more popular than those who had exposure in the entertainment industry. Whatever. That doesn’t veer away from the equation that politics equals personality equals winnability.
Last week, a group of NGOs from all over the Visayas met in Cebu to talk on what they called as “politics change.” While there were attempts to discuss the relevant issues, it was still a liberal, free-wheeling type of discussions that seemed to lack focus. So nothing concrete was resolved, except the idea of organizing for political change. It was at best a drum beating exercise.
So I have decided to write down a few notes with a lot of questions with the hope that these might help clarify a few things…if I don’t muddle them up altogether. I have divided this piece into two major categories – the economic and political. Hopefully, my discussion will not be overtaken by the 2010 elections. To those who bother to read, consider these as starting points for further discussion. In the academe, they call it a discussion paper. But let’s not be too formal about it.
For all the hype about the Philippines being on the threshold of rapid economic growth, the fact about our being an agricultural country is undeniable. The sooner we admit this, the better for our health. We produce rice, corn, coconuts, abaca, sugar and a lot of fruits, using around 65 percent of our labor force in this endeavor. Since the 70’s in the heyday of Imelda and the Green Revolution, our farmers have been hooked to production technologies, the likes of which we see in large plantations. So they produce single crops in large contiguous areas, using generous amounts of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and fungicides for a market over which they have no control.
Why technology has so far failed to uplift the farmer from crippling poverty, despite financial assistance and incentives, is an issue that has not been seriously addressed. The Department of Agriculture has so much money to waste that instead of liberating the farmers from poverty, the department has overtaken the DPWH in its record of scams in the last two years.
Really, there is one simple question we’d like to pose before these presidentiables: What do we do in our agricultural sector? Do you have more viable alternatives to the present farming system?
A good answer to that would improve the lives of 65 percent of the population, create a local market for emerging local industries, free farmers from being over-dependent on chemical fertilizers and pesticides, ensure food for this huge chunk of the population, empower them, and make farming a more lasting and sustainable way of life. (More questions to follow.)
 |
| Apple iPad 9.7 |
No comments:
Post a Comment