While I dont agree with his assumptions about population (the growth rate was already declining even before the rh bill was passed, and I really dont see population as a problem), he is right about practically everything else. We have sacrificed productivity for social justice to such a degree that there is no way to achieve economies of scale in agriculture. To add insult to injury, agriculture, particularly rice, has become highly politicized. Our last real farmer to be head of the department of agriculture is now living in exile, a victim of our political system. And there is little motivation for people to invest in agriculture. You own or buy farmland, expect the government to take it away. You build irrigation facilities and you get taxed for it as an improvement (despite doing something that actually is the governments responsibility through the NIA). In my case the NWRB and NIA both told me that yes its stupid we are being taxed for it but they cant do anything about it as it is the prerogative of the local government to tax me for it. Honestly we are only short 10-15% percent of our needs but our postharvest losses alone are 15-30%. Just making postharvest more efficient will make us self sufficient. However, the government makes more money importing rice than actually trying to help our local farmers do better.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Dec 2014 09:02:29 +0000
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