Kalam is a public service documentary by a Philippine television network GMA. The episode discussed the rice shortage facing the world and especially the Philippines. The show was very thorough in discussing the causes and possible outcome of the crisis facing the world today. I will discuss and give my two cents on some of the issues.
A few years ago, Philippines was one of the top exporters of rice, but now it has become the number one importer of rice. The Philippines import rice from the world’s number one importer of rice, Thailand. However, since the demand for rice has gone up in the last couple of years, Thailand imposed an export ban on rice. The Philippines had to find a solution and imported from neighboring nations like Cambodia and Vietnam. Both countries imposed export ban on rice also which was later on lifted.
Why would these nations ban the export of rice when they should be happy because their export could rise due to a high demand? Let’s talk economics. The basic concept in economics is that as demand goes up, supply goes down and vice-versa. As far as I know, rice production is quite limited because there can only at most three harvests annually (I’m exaggerating my number for a best case scenario). Rice production is not like any other production where you can simply increase your resources so that production increases. Many factors play roles in rice plantation. So if the production is fixed, the supply is closed to being constant. If the demand for rice increases, the balance is affected, therefore if the country keeps exporting to satisfy the demand overseas, the price of rice locally will rise. A proper nation, unlike the Philippines, would halt the export of rice and feed their own people by keeping the affordable price. That is why they ban, but the Philippines will not do this and will treat this crisis as an opportunity to increase the nation’s export (hypothetically speaking if the country was an exporter of rice). Such is our character.
How did Philippines become an importer, rather than an exporter of such valuable commodity? Corruption and negligence.
Political corruption affects the pre-production of rice. Kalam claims that we are the only farming nation that still uses manual labor to produce rice. Most nations use tractors from preparation to harvest. We use carabaos and sickles. Since rice is the most important commodity for Filipinos, agriculture should be the main concern of the officials that are currently enjoying their grafted incomes. There is least support from the government for the agrarian reform. The government should be providing our farmers new technology and not let themselves work out how to produce such technologies because most farmers aren’t millionaires. Quoting an expert from the show, “we lack industrial strategy.”
International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is an institution that studies how to grow rice properly and all kinds of research on improving the productivity of rice, quality of rice, etc. The institute is located close to the University of the Philippines in Los Banos, Laguna. Farmers from the leading rice exporting nation learn how to properly grow their rice from this institute. Filipino farmers learn or rather weren’t taught the knowledge learned from the institute. It’s located in our backyard and we get nothing from it. What does that make us? I have been agitated by our lack of awakening. Our lack of self sufficiency. We have all the resources that other nation would die for and all we do is look at it. We would sensationalize our scientists if they win prestigious award from overseas from discovering such and such. What we really are doing is asking for the world’s approval. It is very sickening! I don’t give a damn if a Filipino win the freakin’ Miss World or has won four WBC belts. Stop sensationalizing ourselves within the international masses and let us sensationalize ourselves from within our nation. Apply those achievements to improve the country’s current pathetic state. Let us not compete with each by proving that we can excel abroad and other Filipinos can’t.
Tags: best case scenario, cambodia, documentary, economics, export ban, faces, facing the world, gma, happiness, harvests, import rice, incomes, network, philippine television, philippines, rice plantation, rice production, television network, thailand, two cents, vietnam, world today
sabi sa ‘yo eh, kelangan mong magtipid talaga ng pagkain bilang anticipation sa mga nangyayari sa atin.
Saving food is not a solution. A solution should solve the root of the problem which is to increase production which is controlled by the people only if there is cooperation.
Ugali na talaga ng mga FIlipino yun – proud kung may naa-achieve abroad. It’s annoying and frustrating, Medyo mahirap lang magsalita sa part ko kasi hypocritical ang dating kasi I’m also abroad. Ang defense ko lang I didn’t choose to be here. I would have been happy making a life and career back in the Philippines.
That’s the problem with the government they want to put a good make-up on their faces to look beautiful in the eyes of the foreigners. Pinagtitipid tayo ng gobyerno pero sige naman gastos nila. Pinapakain nila ng masarap na kanin ang mga bisitang foreigners pero nangangamoy at nangingitim naman ang hinahain sa mga naghihirap na Filipino. Tapos parang sila pa yata ang nagtataka bakit nagkukulang tayo! Hindi kasi scientist ang nasa puesto kundi politiko.
rice production is rather sticky because it takes some time to produce it while consumption rate is growing as the population grows. natural disasters could easily tip the supply demand equilibrium which will undeniably result to importation. tama ka, dapat iimprove talaga ang technology for rice production, and IRRI has been doing that. hybrid varieties were introduced pero ang production hindi pa rin sapat. this reminds me of jocjoc bolante and the celebrated fertilizer scam. kahit sino maiinis naman talaga dito. agricultural industrialization in the Philippines is a failure because of wrong government’s priorities. dagdag mo pa ang mga scam. powtek
Ate Lorie, don’t be afraid to be hypocritical because it’s human nature. Embrace that :) Since ugali na ng Filipino yun, hindi ba natin pwedeng magbago tayo?
Sabi nga sa show kinukulang daw ng pondo. Hindi pondo ang problema. Ang problema ay kung saan napupunta ang pondo.
Natural disasters – we caused this, so the blame is on us. Winasak ng gobyerno ang kapaligiran natin. Sabi nga sa show dahil daw sa pagtaas ng popolasyon ang nag apekto sa pagtaas ng demand kaya ang supply bumaba. Kung ako ang tatanongin, Supply ang bumaba. If we are self sufficient and not rely on the international market, then we should be OK, but how can we be self sufficient when the government are suppressing the farmers and not supporting them. It’s they who are feeding the citizens, yet they have to find ways to produce every six months. If you ask me, they are the heroes and not the fucking OFWs or Manny “fucking” Pacquiao…
Oh, scientists are the growing problem also because they discover something, then get out of the country. Uhhmmm… Like I said, IRRI is right in our backyard, but they are not helping our farmers at all. They are helping foreign farmers, not us.
speaking of supply vis-a-vis population, bumaba ang supply relative sa ratio ng population, shifting the demand curve rightward thus creating a shortage
Supply can be controlled… if we really work on it. We can increase it as teh demand rises to maintain the balance. The supply-demand curve is flexible enough that you can move both variables. We can also adjust the damand (survival of the fittest) but politicians “won’t like it” if you know what I mean. May the Philippines should follow what China did??? 1 child per family :)
mr. varon i am not saying that saving food is a solution but a mere fact that we people who care about is anticapating to this ood shortage. logic 1: if you save food rather than wasting it the consumption is less. so you could have it later when you starve. (i guess you eat tira-tira or know how to reheat food) logic 2: kung itinago mo yong pagkain mo, imbes na bibili ka pa ay hindi na. at kung itinapon mo naman, kunwari yong kanin, edi bibili ka pa nyan? o edi sana yong binili mo e binili na rin ng ibang buyer na mas nangangailangan kesa sau. nagets mo?sana. AND IF YOU HAVE THE SYMPATHY TO THE WORLD’S RICE SHORTAGE INCLUDING PHIL. I GUESS YOU KNOW HOW TO FEEL LIKE. UNLESS IF DONT HAVE THE GUTS… ;)
I know politically perspective that yeah phil having problems with rice shortage due to (maybe) political manipulation and lack of concrete system towards agricultural matter. but hey you can make even just a little good deed by saving food. or you could have brought these foods to those who starve alot, if in case. yeah i am aware that we filipinod HERE in the phil. having problem wih rice shortage but then again i told so we can make a little good deed to anticipate to what really happening, it might not be a good solution but an sole empathy though.
To answer all the questions you posed, I don’t care if people starve and I waste what I have. It is mine and I can do whatever I want with it. I feel no pity on anyone starving right now. However, I’m focusing my entry on something that I CAN have.
The only problem people are having is that they cannot have rice due to a high price which is caused by low production which is caused improper farming (caused by the things I mentioned). If I chose not to waste my rice, that means I’ll sell my surplus to others at a higher price. I will not give away my surplus of rice for free. Do you think that the starving public be able to get hold of the rice I’m selling? If they cannot afford my rice, that means it’s going to waste, unless I give it away for free. I’d rather waste my surplus rather than give that to the starving public mainly because I’m selfish and secondly the act will create all other kinds of problems for me (i.e., you can’t please everyone, so if you stick your nose in other people’s business that’s a huge problem).
The problem is not because I bought the rice that others could have. It’s a short-sighted scenario. Saving can’t last. So why would I linger on something short term?
I never really understood why OFWs are “heroes”. I understand that it’s hard to choose being away from your loved ones to be able to provide for them, and that they help the economy by sending money, yada yada.
But I think the real heroes are the workers who choose to work and make a contribution in the country and not be blinded by the money from working abroad. How easy it is to make the so-called sacrifices in exchange for a comfortable life. Bihira yung mga taong ginagawa lang yung ginawa nila because of the sheer joy of doing it and not because of wealth or prestige.
I won’t comment on the politics and economics because I know zip about it…
I agree with Mr. Varon that not wasting food doesn’t help the needy. And that if we all save food it will somehow help others; this is too idealistic for me. Let’s face it, people are selfish. However, I try not waste food because it doesn’t feel right to me. Others are breaking their backs to get food on the table so I should appreciate that I have food that I can choose to waste or not. There’s no logic here just a personal standpoint.
I should build up the comments, concatenate them into an entry haha. The comments are longer than the entry. I intended that to be long, but I was short of time. I only had 30mins at the cafe before I came to the office.
I think politics is dirty, but I have a scapegoat for everything that’s not right with the world. I know nothing much about it either ’cause I’m too honest hahaha
Ate Lorie agreed with me, nakakapanibago yata :) Ate Lorie, enjoy the book. You’ll realize why I like that book a lot :)
[...] a quote from one of the characters of Winter Moon. It reminded me of a comment I made on Mang GB’s blog about how OFW’s are not really heroes. I was speaking in the [...]