Rains have started to fall in many parts of Mindanao, a good indication that the planting season has started early for at least two of the major crops of the island – rice and corn.
Planting rice and corn by the end of the April and May would ensure harvest by August and sustain food supplies well into the lean months.
It could help address a feared rice supply shortage resulting from the decision of major rice exporting countries to hold on to their stocks.
The total lockdowns enforced by many local government units in Mindanao so strict to the point of being ridiculous could jeopardize the food production activities in Mindanao.
Why am I saying that some of the lockdowns enforced by several Mindanao units has stretched to the point of being ridiculous?
Within provinces, even those without reports of PUMs or PUIs, neighboring barangays and towns enforce local lockdowns effectively preventing people from doing anything.
This has virtually paralyzed food production and economic activities making almost everybody dependent in food rations and cash aid.
The problem is if the COVID-19 Pandemic does not let up in some parts of the country and the economic paralysis continues, government may not be able to sustain the assistance program.
Over the weekend, I asked Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) officials to send out feelers to assess the reaction of local officials to the idea of expanding lockdowns from barangay and town levels to province-wide.
The idea is for provinces with no reported PUMs or PUIs over the last 30 days to ease up on the lockdowns and expand their quarantine coverage to extend to their provincial borders.
This would allow the resumption of farming, livelihood and economic activities within the province.
The net effect of the initiative to the national effort to contain COVID-19 is that for every province that returns to a certain level of normalcy, the need to supply food or cash assistance could end.
So far, we have received several positive response from local officials, the most vocal among them is Surigao del Sur Gov. Alexander Pimentel.
“That’s the way to go. Let’s restart the activities and business. Hindi din maganda na masanay mga tao sa dole out. Let us just strengthen our COVID-19 quarantine protocols and precautions,” Gov. Pimentel said in a message to MinDA Undersecretary Janet Lopoz yesterday.
Every Mindanao province which resumes normal activities where people could go back to farming and fishing would mean additional assurance of sufficient food supply for the country.
Also, it would mean one province taken off the list of food and cash-aid dependent areas and one less headache for President Rody Duterte.
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