I normally don’t write about political issues, but something on the news got my attention a couple of nights ago. The price of rice is going up, and there’s talk of a rice shortage. Like anything else, it has been politicized.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo says that the government is taking all necessary steps to overt the crisis. The government, for example, is importing rice and selling it to the poor at reduced prices.
Former President Joseph Estrada (who was deposed and convicted of corruption) says there is no crisis, and the situation is just a smokescreen the current president is using to distract the masses from problems in her administration.
Another group/agency (I didn’t catch the name, but it was some type of agricultural group) says the president is not doing enough and sweeping reforms are needed to ensure that enough rice is produced domestically.
Anyone else confused?
I have another question–why doesn’t the government subsidize hybrid rice seeds? Hybrid rice produces more, but many farmers don’t buy the more expensive hybrid seeds. It seems this would be much more cost-effective than importing foreign rice, and it would keep more money in the country. Well, I’m definitely not an expert on this kind of thing.
Hhhhm, probably Erap is right.
hi kuya kevin.
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i’ve had my fair share of thoughts about this issue. there really isn’t rice shortage but i keep on wondering why they are still importing rice from other countries if they are insisting that the country has enough rice reserves. i guess this is all political. i mean, GMA might be just making a big fuzz about this because everyone is already starting to keep her off her precious presidential chair.
nice blog posts. keep it coming. you might as well want to visit mine. 🙂 take care!
— trishie
perhaps that would be the NFA or the National Food Authority.