Still in Baguio.
A rice farmer once told me the only thing NFA rice was good for, was for feeding to his pigs. I myself went through a period when I bought NFA rice but it was of such low quality that I gave up. The real question is whether rice can only be affordable if it’s of such miserable quality, or whether the government could provide quality but affordable rice. Surely it can do both, though even as it is, the growing number of people who subsist on instant noodles (easier to prepare, etc.) shows just how relative the idea of affordability is. Which raises a question: is pouring government funds into subsidizing poor-quality rice, the best way to support farmers and enable access to cheap food?
Again, an article I’ve been wanting to point to, for some time: Rice “self-sufficiency” for whom? in Philippines Without Borders.
Technorati Tags: economy, food, philippines, society
is pouring government funds into subsidizing poor-quality rice, the best way to support farmers and enable access to cheap food?
They can get organized into cooperatives (this is where govt and NGOs could come in) and eliminate the many layers of middlemen between the producers and consumers. This’ll help both farmers and consumers.
If we can’t get our rice production right, then we might as well convert to some other crop that can be done better. Perhaps we should look into converting to rice plantations to sugar plantations which will be an input to ethanol production. Then we just import 100% of our rice. The local farmers will get higher income, and we get better quality rice.
I m relaly having a hard time understanding this rice issue and the poor quality of NFA rice. One of our family business is planting rice. (Kay napaselan ko sa quality ng rice at di mo ako mapapakain ng low qualiy rice. my system just cant take it).
I m very sure of this, the quality of rice that are being produced from the farms are very good. Now how did it happen that the NFA rice is not that edible? I tried it when I was in Manila its just not edible for me.
May problema ba sa storage. where did teh better quality rice go? Puro made in Thailand naman ang mga mga nandito sa America….
6 years in america didn not change my eating habit at all. I still eat rice all the time. I would feel so weak if I dont eat rice in one day.At pakaselan ko. So how did I manage during lunch and dinner timewhen there is no Pinoy resto in the area?
I woudl order a take out at hispanic restaurant. But since I dont like their rice. I would give instruction ” No rice please”. And as soon as I got my order. I woudl head off to a chinese restaurant to order just a rice.
I do eat chinese food. Pero hindi naman pwedeng araw Beef Brocoli, Fried chicken, at lomien lagi ang kakainin ko noh
mlq3,
Price of rice have shot up, good rice is beyond reach of the masses.Good thing people are not talking about rice revolt yet.
I thought the World Bank’s into deep self-evaluation after it became apparent that most of its impositions to developing countries cause more suffering for the poor people of the world.
cvj,
Import 100% rice requirement? If rice exporting countries suffer from drought or floods or for whatever reason decided to not to sell to save reserve for its people first, what will you do? give the Filipinos ethanol to ease the pain of an empty stomach?
rego,
Having a hard time understanding the rice issue? Poor rice farmers don’t blog, you’ll have a better chance some other way, perhaps chatting with a poor farmer, personally, that is.
rego: Kaya napakaselan ko sa quality ng rice at di mo ako mapapakain ng low qualiy rice. my system just cant take it
Ang sosyal mo naman, rego. 🙂
Leo, if we want real food security in preparation for a world wide famine or something similar, then what we should be stockpiling on is food that can be stored for long periods of time like canned goods, freeze dried foods along with sources of water supply. That will tide us over the initial months and then we can switch our back to rice (or whatever crop can be efficiently produced).
In the meantime, wouldn’t it be better if a farmer increases his/her income by selling a product that earns more for a given piece of land? Besides, ethanol will help provide us energy security just in case the supplies of crude oil gets disrupted, or the suppliers decide not to sell or reserve it for its people first.
mlq3, cvj,
Better to put the rice sufficiency issue in the context of Food Sovereignty.
“Food sovereignty” is a term originally coined by members of Via Campesina in 1996 [1] to refer to a policy framework advocated by a number of farmers’, peasants’, pastoralists’, fisherfolk, Indigenous Peoples’, womens’, rural youth and environmental organizations, namely the claimed “right of peoples to define their own food, agriculture, livestock and fisheries systems,” in contrast to having food largely subject to international market forces. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_sovereignty
You may not believe it but the NFA actually buys unmilled rice at a premium over what the middlemen pay and the NFA only accepts the better grade harvest. So I’m also asking why NFA sells this low quality milled rice!
I can remember very well when I was still little that we used to separate the good grain from the not so good and queue in the NFA to sell the better grain. I don’t know if the system is still the same but I bet the NFA still doesn’t buy low quality rice. Maybe the NFA imports these because it also costs lower and because nobody else want to eat them in Thailand, or Vietnam?
“The real question is whether rice can only be affordable if it’s of such miserable quality, or whether the government could provide quality but affordable rice”
.
In my opinion, I think a people who are actually able to tolerate the reality of a huge swath of its urban population living and eating off mounds of garbage and wading through raw sewage during EVERY wet season need not be too picky about the quality of the rice they eat. 😀
Read your article in Uniffors.com, Mlq3.
I’ve got a question: Of the 80 million or so Pinoys, how many of them realistically (well, more or less…) can satisfy that minimum basic food and non basic food needs?
Do they NSO people know or at least have an idea?
Benign0, that is another false dichotomy to your credit, (not to mention a red herring). The choice is not between eating garbage and eating poor quality rice. The issue is whether subsidies on poor quality rice is the optimal policy.
ibang klase. naiintindihan ko na si mlq3 malawak ang kaalaman sa maraming bagay, pero yung mga komentarista, grabe! may opinyon sa lahat ng bagay. at kung mag-diskurso, kala mo eksperto sa lahat, maging terorismo o problema sa ekonomiya, hanggang problemang bigas!!! mga lolo, magsi-uwian na lang kayo sa pinas at dito niyo i-display yang kagalingan nyo. Dakdak kayo ng dakdak diyan, nagpapataasan lang kayo ng (hehe) Sino pinakamagaling? sino pinakamaraming alam? Sino pinaka mabilis mag google para maunang makapag cite ng kung anu-anong figures? Ano yan? Nagpapaimpress ba kayo kay mlq3? O baka wala lang kayong magawa diyan sa kung nasaan kayo? Kung wala, pwes, balik na dito!!! Baka pwede kayo magtayo ng sarili ninyong stink-tank, este thinktank pala (na-copyright ko na nga pala yung stink-tank), para may iba namang makinabang sa mga henyo ninyo.
“rego,Having a hard time understanding the rice issue? Poor rice farmers don’t blog, you’ll have a better chance some other way, perhaps chatting with a poor farmer, personally, that is.”
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Leo read back my post, our family is a rice farmer themselves. What i dont understand specifcally is the is the very poor quality of NFA rice.Though I highly suspect there is storage issue problem…..
Believe me, Leo, I my father taught us how to plant rice our selves. I know very well how to operate the hand tractor and even how to command a carabao to prepare the feild for planting. And I know very well how to plant a rice dahil pag wala o kulang sa trabahador at gusto ng matapos ng tatay ko matapos yung patanim, ( he is has work on on the weekends) Kami mismo sinsabak nya sa putikan… And it was a lot fun.
I know very well how to plant a rice dahil pag wala o kulang sa trabahador at gusto ng matapos ng tatay ko matapos yung patanim, ( he is has work on on the weekends) Kami mismo sinsabak nya sa putikan… And it was a lot fun.
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I mean he has regular job on Weekdays and he is a farmer in weekends so we have to finish th efarm on weekend, And we have to go to school too.
in everything, including rice, you get what you pay for. you want the best, go work for it (honestly). no short cuts, no hand-outs, no thievery, no begging. no one can have champagne on a beer budget. the important thing is that there is something available for every one to eat in order to stay alive.
Rego,
Nice to know that,anecdote.
Nice to hear stories of hard work, including the fun part of it. (your family)
3rdson, hindi maaaring ipaubaya lamang sa mga dalubhasa ang pagsusuri ng mga problemang hinaharap ng ating bayan. Bilang pangkaraniwang mamamayan, may tungkulin rin tayong makinig, umintindi, at kung maaari, magbigay linaw sa isa’t-isa base sa ating nalalaman at nararamdaman. Iyan ang dahilan kung bakit nagsisikap ako, pati na rin ang mga iilan dito na pag-aralan at pag-usapan ang mga sari-saring paksang inihaharap ni mlq3 sa kanyang blog na may kinalaman sa ating kalagayan.
3rd son,
I visted your blog and I don’t want to impress you. Just want to say that the title of the latest blog,insult by the dozen mas mura kesa tingi,makes me think that you have been a regular here under an different handle or name.
The pataasan ng_,you mentioned, made me thought you were tagakotta de cebu ,but naah,english speaking yun and eto hula lang baka dili sya masyado kasabot tagalog.
As benigno says,keep on guessing,but I would rather not.
sabi mo, e manong jugo. matanong ko lang. sa dinami dami na ng na poste mo dito sa blog na ito, sa tinagal tagal mo nang hindi pagpapaubaya sa mga dalubhasa ang pagsusuri sa mga problem ng bayan, ni minsan ba ay mayroon kang na-achieve? pupusta akong wala pa. Siguro sa sariling cirkulo mo, meron, pero sa bayan mo? E wala ka nga dito e, diba? O kung ikaw man, nandito, alam ko na marami kang katotong komentarista na nagmamarunong tungkol sa mga isyu na nagaganap sa lupang kanila nang nilisan, mga isyu na kinakaharap ng mga taong di na nila kabayan.
pwede ba? just because you have a good life somewhere else, just because you see how those foreigners do things, di ibig sabihin may dagdag na bigat o validity ang inyong mga pinagsasabi.
kung sinsero kayong makatulong sa pilipino, uwi dito! imbis na puro kayo pagmamarunong sa internet, dito kayo magdakdak at baka may makinig pa sa inyo. wag na kayong pa-australiano o pa-canadian o pa-amerikano kuno.
matagal na ako nagbabasa dito, sir karl. kaya lang, di ko kaya makipagsabayan sa mga eggspert dito. kaya quiet lang ako. natawa lang talaga ako nung nakita ko na pati bigas, papatusin pa ng mga komentarista.
tabi tabi po
“Then we just import 100% of our rice”
From where exactly? Only the US has a surplus among rice producing countries. It only produces 8 MMT per year and exports half or 4 MMT. That is only one third of rice consumption in the Philippines (12 MMT).
Seth, nabisita ko na ang blog mo. Hindi ko tuloy alam kung seryoso ka o sinusubukan mo lang ang iba’t-ibang insulto. Anyway, konting praktis pa at marami ka pang bigas na kakainin. Good luck na lang.
3rd Son:
Sorry description pala ng blog mo yung insulto:cheaper by the dozen…..
yung title ng first o latest blog mo,insulto:
nasaan yung mga tips,mara maliwanagan kami.
sa mga commenter ba maggagaling o sa iyo,e di pareho lang opinion based din,unless you have a phd in insulting,and you want o have a virtual diary.
napakatipikal naman ng reaksiyon mo, manong jugo. hindi lahat ng tao one dimensional. sa tingin mo ba dahil yung blog ko ay tungkol sa sining ng pang-iinsulto ay wala nang katuturan ang puna ko sa mga komentarista dito? at, wala pa akong insultong pinupukol sa iyo, manong.
Supremo, we can also source rice from other exporters, Thailand, Vietnam and India. If 100% is not possible, then let’s just import what’s available so we can free up as much land for alternative crops.
seth, that’s better, konti pa siguro papasa ka na.
sir karl, wala pa atang doctorate sa sining ng pag-iinsulto. pero, nainspire ako ng blog na ito na i-share ang aking nalalaman sa sining na ito. lalo na yung mga panunulat ni ginoong manuel buencamino.
at dahil nga hindi pa tinuturo sa kolehiyo ang sining ng pag-iinsulto, tama ka na puro sariling opinyon ko lang ito. at least, ito ang alam ko. hindi ako nagmamarunong sa lahat ng posibleng topic.
jack of all (topics), master of none? ayoko ng ganoon.
3rdson,
Mas maganda siguro lung palitan mo amg handle mo to Turdson.
Mas madaling ma-aalala ng tao kasi mas tugma sa produkto ng utak mo.
saan ako papasa manong jugo? sa pag-ilag? wag kang magalala, manong. masugid kong pag-aaralan ang mga istilo mo. your kung fu is strong.
“Mas maganda siguro lung palitan mo amg handle mo to Turdson.” Genius! Maraming salamat, sir.
Turdson nee 3rdson,
Walang anuman.
Wala naman nagbago kundi spelling, di ba? The pronunciation and the pronouncements remain the same.
Turdson,
Anong ibig sabihin ng turd mo?
1) A piece of excrement.
2) Slang. A contemptible person.
actually, malaki ang pagkakaiba ng ‘th-urd’ sa ‘t-urd,’ maliban na lang kung hirap ka sa tunog na ‘th,’ diba brader? pero get ko ang gusto mong sabihin. yung tinutukoy mong ‘pronouncements’ naman, e hindi talaga magbabago yan. nakakatawa pa rin yung mga komentarista na kung sumulat ay kala mo eggsperto sa lahat ng topic. at least ikaw, ginoong buencamino, pinipili mo ang kokomentuhan mo. kaya nga ba saludo ako sa iyo at sa iyong acerbic wit. Naks. Ingles nanaman yun! Fruit-ang-ina. Galing talaga ng google.
gat supremo, ano ulit ang sinabi kong contemptible?
Some sobering thoughts on rice production and consumption.
Rice-eating but first-world Japan, laden with over 127 million people on mainly rugged terrain and located in Asia, sources about 50% of its rice importation from one state in one Western Hemisphere country – California. For its part, California sends about 50% of its rice production to Japan. For the current year, I extrapolate that the value of California’s rice production could be at US$200 million. At current rates, that is close to one billion pesos.
Isn’t this a good illustration of the principle of comparative advantage which underpins international trade?
turdson,
Walan akong sinasabi na may sinabi kang contemtible. Gusto ko lang malaman ang ibig sabihin ng ‘turd’ sa turdson mo. Nasagot mo na kaya ok na. Got it?
seth, mabuti naman at mukhang nahikayat ka na rin na sumali sa pataasan ng ihi.
gat supremo, ah! rhetorical question pala yun. para bang “biro mo! naisip mo yun!”
manong jugo, susmaryosep! di ko kayo kaya tapatan. di hamak na mas mataas ang (uhrm!) nyo sa akin. kinakausap kasi ako ng mga amo dito. bastos namang di sumagot.
Turdson,
Hindi na gaano kamalaki ang diperensya as pronunciation kc tayong mga Pilipino mahilig mag pun ng taglish. Ikaw din, mawawala ang bagong handle mo kung ipagpipilitan mo yung finong pagbikas sa atin barok na pun.
yesser
cvj said
“Supremo, we can also source rice from other exporters, Thailand, Vietnam and India. If 100% is not possible, then let’s just import what’s available so we can free up as much land for alternative crops.”
There are onlt 26 MMT of rice traded each year in the world. Procuring 12 MMT (million metric tons) for the Philippines will be very expensive. The Filipinos are better off eating less rice. The next generation should be taught to eat something else like potato.
Supremo, thanks very much for that info. Given your numbers, looks like my initial suggestion of importing rice is not a good idea.
The world produces plenty of food countries have to throw some away or ‘dump’ them in the developing world to keep their prices up. Production isn’t the problem, trade is.
I don’t see why the Philippines should have to remove government subsidies on rice altogether. Over at his blog Dave proposes diverting the funds to invest in improving local production and not just to prop up the ‘rural aristocracy.’
When food security is tantamount to national security, tax payers, at least in rich countries, seem prepared to pay for expensive food. The US and the EU are certainly prepared to defend their subsidies (both direct and indirect) to protect their increasingly ‘efficient’ agriculture sector (i.e. small farmers are being phased out).
In an ideal world where markets are truly free, it might make sense to stop producing rice altogether, especially when it’s so expensive to grow them locally. But if 40% of our labour are still employed in the agriculture sector and there are no other industries to absorb them, then some protection should be accorded our farmers. In the Philippines the last ten years there seems to be an increasing ‘rationalisation’ of the rice industry, and middle men are being squeezed out due in part to increased competition and some traders more than willing to import illegally.
Also, if you talk to vegetable growers from Baguio, they are deploring the government’s lack of initiative to prevent entry of imports from all places China. If anything, I think the problem is that the government isn’t protecting local farmers enough.
As for the World Bank, well, the World Bank knows squat.
3rdson,
Pasintabi po,magbibigay lang ng kurokuro….
sa iskwela simula kabataan tinuruan na tayong maging jack of trades sa pagturo ng maraming subject..ganyan hanggang colege kahit na na masteral ng kung anu ano ay little of everything pa din.
Sa yo na din ng galing ang word na one dimensional,sa tingin mo (halimbawa lang po) mabubuhay ka ba sa sining ng pang iinsulto kung walng mga ibat ibang subject,na sa sitwasyon na ganito na ang mag subject ay mga iinsultuhin.O sa kabilang banda na pwede ding subject ay mga insulto.
Di ba ang daming subjects pa din?
At lahat may karapatan magbigay ng opinyon na hindi naman lahat ay matatawg natin na insulto.
3rd son,
ang istilo ng pagtuturo ngayon ay base sa pagkukuro kuro unti unti ng lumalayo sa memorization. Analytical at critical thinking na ang ginagamit. Kung sinasabi mong magaling ka sa pag insulto siguradong dumaan ka sa ganito istilo at uri ng pagtuturo.
Ngayon sa topic ng kanin.
pano tayo mag kakamatinong kanin umaasa tayo sa central luzon,na madalsas bagyuhin at kundi bagyo sobrang tag tuyot. kasali na din ang sinabi ni DJB na pagbibililad sa kalye na puro asbestos,at madami factor na dumaan na sa mga ibat ibang comment thread ng blog na ito.
Now,the Mindanao option..its back to those roro ports ports again.
Rice from Thailand ends up cheaper.
I think Dave’s point is that subsidies on rice are distorting incentives so that the farmers are discouraged from diversifying into more profitable crops. What was intended to protect the farmers ends up hurting them as well the urban dwellers.
Unless i read him wrongly, his proposal involves removing the subsidies (for price supports) and using the money instead to improving support services, infra and technologies so that the farmers will find it easier to switch to higher earning crops.
“If we can’t get our rice production right, then we might as well convert to some other crop that can be done better. Perhaps we should look into converting to rice plantations to sugar plantations which will be an input to ethanol production. Then we just import 100% of our rice. The local farmers will get higher income, and we get better quality rice.”
but how come thailand get their production right? to think they learned it from irri. somewhere down–or is it up?–the production line, nobody cares about our farmers. mga jocjoc diyan, sobra na nyong nijekjek ang mga magsasaka. excuse the foul language–they deserve it anyway.
in everything, including rice, you get what you pay for. you want the best, go work for it (honestly). no short cuts, no hand-outs, no thievery, no begging. no one can have champagne on a beer budget. the important thing is that there is something available for every one to eat in order to stay alive.
———————\
Of course, bencard!
But then how can government help the people with a poor quality rice? To me they re helping more the pigs than the people eh. I dont know if you tried the NFA rice. Lasang tae ng ipis at daga sya. Obviously coming from the roaches and rats in the storage.
Hey, Im not saying na Gloria specific ang quality issue na to. Becuase the last time I tried NFA rice, Gloria is not president then. But her government has the responsibilty to check the storage condition even just the taste of these cheap or free rice before giving it the people. I even believe na may health hazards eto.