rice shortage in the philippines?

Rice shortage? Why is their such a rice shortage in our country?What are the possible reasons?
How and when did it happen?


From Jonathan Head (BBC News, Manila): As global prices for rice surge to ever higher levels, the world’s biggest importer, the Philippines, shows all the signs of being gripped by a rice crisis.


Our country have or is facing a lot of problems, this includes Health care which is very vital, our military-teachers-and other government employees salary, the increasing prices of our basic needs, and many others.
Now, we are again in a new and bigger issue---rice shortage. As we all know rice is one of the basic food that we, Filipinos have on our table (though we have other alternatives such as Sweet potato,cassava and banana). Since last year a lot of our basic home commodities have been increasing since last year, this includes oils, sugar and of course rice, the present issue. Though Pres. Arroyo assured as that their is and their will be no rice shortage, we all can't help our selves to worry.

"The Philippines, once Asia’s leading rice producer, is now its leading rice importer, according to the Ibon Foundation, an economic research group. Last year, the Philippines imported 1.8 million tons of rice, or 16 percent of its requirement, mainly from Vietnam and Thailand.

This month, Mrs. Arroyo asked the Vietnamese prime minister, Nguyen Tan Dung, to commit to export 1.5 million tons to the Philippines. Vietnam pledged only a million tons, officials said." --New York Times.

Source : http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/26/world/asia/26phils.html?ex=1364184000&en
=616f28aef94434a6&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss


My Gosh, what happened to our beloved country? as said before we were the leading rice producer and we thought the Vietnamese the easy way of growing the rice (plants), but what happens now?why are we the one importing their rice? I can site some reasons.......
(1) Lack of Budget.
(2) Feudal system (or should I say Encomienda system)
(3) Idleness or just really LAZINESS.
(4) Rice fields are converted to subdivisions,golf course,etc.
(5) Rice Fields are again converted to other products that can be imported to other countries(esp. to U.S.)such as sugar, abaca, and coconut.
(6) Totally behind in terms of technology.
"In 1931 Philippine Agriculture Secretary Rafael Alunan reported that Indochina nations produced 2,200 kilos of rice per hectare, while the Philippines produced only 1,225 kilos. He also claimed that the Philippines was behind Java by 30 years in terms of scientific and technological support for agriculture."----upiasia.com
(7) And of course WE ARE DEPENDENT ON IMPORTED RICE. Instead of producing more rice we are all waiting for other countries to import their rice to us.
(8) Rice smuggling.
"In her directive, Mrs. Arroyo ordered the agriculture secretary, Arthur Yap, to “go all out against rice hoarders to ensure that cheap government rice ends up on the tables of the intended consumers — the country’s poor.”

Mr. Yap “is staking out all N.F.A. warehouses so he can follow the big 10-wheeler trucks and see where they are bringing rice,” the president said, referring to the National Food Authority, the government regulator of the rice industry.

The food authority also runs the government’s rice subsidy program. It buys rice from farmers here and abroad and sells it to the public at a cheaper price.

But officials said some traders had been buying the subsidized rice and holding it to sell months later at higher prices. That practice has made shortages worse as demand has grown, they say. The government estimates that the country’s population, 85 million, will reach 94 million by 2010." ---nytimes.com

Rice is the staple food of Filipinos. Remove it from our tables and there will be mass unrest. Blaming the weather and the limited global supply to explain the rice shortage is not enough. The government has to abandon its agricultural liberalization program and its over dependence on rice imports. The government must adopt emergency measures to increase the rice output of farmers. The time has come to implement a genuine agrarian reform.




"Ask what you can do for your country, not what your country can do for you"