“Did You Know PH Had A ‘Golden Time’ During Ferdinand ‘FM’ Marcos’ Presidency? Asking As A Friend!” – Frank A Hilario
We exported rice in 1977-78 (“Masagana 99,” Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org). (21 Sept
is also “World Gratitude Day” – God, thank you for even the little things!)
ANN says, “Masagana 99 Both A Success And A Failure, Experts
Say” (Author Not Named, 30 Sept
2020, University of the Philippines Los
Baños, uplb.edu.ph):
In 1973, an
agricultural program aimed at solving the country’s then-worsening rice
shortage was developed. It was called “Masagana 99,” after the Filipino word
for “bountiful” and the target number of cavans per hectare of rice to be
produced under the program.
According to Edgardo Quisumbing, former deputy
implementer of the program, “Masagana 99” was at its core… in response to the
severe rice shortage due to pests and natural disasters occurring at the time.
This package, he said,
was made up of high-yielding rice varieties and low-cost pesticides and
fertilizers, alongside a supervised credit scheme that enabled the farmers to
purchase [those technologies].
“Masagana
99” succeeded, and PH exported rice in 1977-78. We showed the world Filipinos could
produce the rice we needed, and then some!
(“Masagana 99” from youtube.com)
I was Editor In Chief of the 3 publications of the Forest Research Institute (FORI) at that
time – monthly newsletter Canopy, quarterly technical journal Sylvatrop, and quarterly color magazine Habitat. FORI showed the world even
self-taught Filipino writers & editors could produce the publications we
needed, and excel. Today, why not show the world the intelligence we have?
I
know one “good reason” why “Masagana 99” “went bad”– as the number of cavans of
rice multiplied, the number of farmer-borrowers defaulting on credit also
multiplied!
The
major lesson that I see is this: “Government must have faith in the farmers,
while the farmers must show faith in the government.”
Today, 21 Sept 2022,
the 50th Anniversary of PH Martial Law, some activists and
contrarians bring out anti-Martial Law placards (like, “Never Again, Never
Forget”) and their hate.
(“Never Again” from UP-OVCSA,.facebook.com)
They
are entitled to their grievances – but what about those who must never forget
to live on and hope? What about the farmers and their families who want to live
in peace – and prosperity?
That is why some 57 years ago when I discovered it for
myself, I embraced the philosophy of Organic
Agriculture, now enlarged to Regenerative
Agriculture (RA). Today, given Climate Change, enjoying their rights,
farmers have the duty to themselves and their country to follow the science of RA
that promises to bring them out of poverty and at the same time bring society out
of the dangers of Climate Change.
Farmers
must enjoy their rights – they must also contribute to the good of society!@517
Comments
Post a Comment