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The headlines in the middle of 2008 have been all about rice. I know rice, and not simply because I don’t feel satisfied eating without rice, just like any Filipino. We have a modest tract of ricefield in the province, with produce sufficient to last the family, and some, until the next harvest season. Just like any child, I loved playing with, and in, the ricefield mud, and I refused to understand, way back then, why such pleasure would merit punishment from my mother. I have cultivated rice — from the preparation of the field, preparing the seeds, planting, weeding, harvesting until milling.
Yes, I know rice. I also know that the Philippines was a major producer of rice, which is probably the reason why the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) — the world’s leading rice research and training center — is based in the Philippines. I understand global trade, but I don’t understand how massive importation of rice, while at the same time neglecting domestic rice production, could result in self-sufficiency. I know that there’s a present problem with rice production and supply, and some have gone to the extent of labeling it as a crisis. I fully understand that the Philippines has become one of the world’s top importers of rice. I don’t know exactly what went wrong. But no matter what caused this crisis, the inescapable fact is that the increase in the price of rice significantly cuts the buying power of the family. Worse, rice farmers are not better off even with the increase in price. The Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Arthur Yap, mentioned that the problem is not the supply. He also mentioned that around 40% of the farmgate price of rice goes to middlemen. These are the traders or businessmen buying/selling rice. Now, if the farmers, perhaps through cooperatives, have enough business or entrepreneurial exposure to market their produce directly to the consumers, then that might give them enough leverage to get more pesos from their produce. The next difficult question is: How do you develop business sense among farmers?
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