We Choose To Be Poor! God’s Chosen People Made A Clear Choice

(First of 2-Parts of my presentation in the international webinar on Modern Irrigation and Fertigation in Tropical Regions organized by the Mashav of Israel, May 5, 2021.)

It has always been said that Israelis stand out in whatever they do because they are God’s Chosen People.

While that is a Biblical narrative, many have refuted that.

I, myself, do not subscribe to that because if that were so, then the God that I believe in is unfair for not choosing the Filipinos as His own special people too.

I believe that what sets the Israelis apart from other small nations is the fact that from the very beginning they made clear and determined choices – from the story of Moses leading his people in crossing the Red Sea to its modern day leaders turning a desert with only a few rivers into one of the most advance agriculture production areas of the world.

Asset for asset, resources for resources, Israel could not even be compared to two provinces in Mindanao – Lanao del Sur and Bukidnon.

Israel’s land area is only 2.077-million hectares, most of it desert, with only five major rivers, the most famous and longest of these is the Jordan River.

There is not much rainfall in Israel. “Israel receives scanty annual rainfall between 30.5mm (1.2″) in the extreme south and 889mm (35″) in the north. Arable areas along the coast receive up to 304.8mm (12″) of rain annually. More than 70% of the annual rainfall occurs mainly between November and March,” according to information available in the web.

Compare that to the 2.4-million hectares of fertile land of both Lanao del Sur and Bukidnon with a tropical rainforest climate and about 659 mm of rain in a year.

Both provinces have hundreds of rivers flowing from the mountains, including lakes, the biggerst of which is the 34,000-hectare Lake Lanao, the headwater of the Agus River which generates some 1,000 MW of hydropower.

The greatest irony is that these two provinces blessed by God with great resources are listed among the 20 Poorest Provinces in the Philippines.

I could only think of one reason: We, our leaders and our people, failed to make a CHOICE. We ignored the rich resources right in front of us and dreamed of traveling and finding work in foreign lands, including Israel.

One of our greatest mistakes which could be corrected if we learn lessons from Israel is water management.

Mindanao, the island where the two provinces are located with 9.7-million hectares, has about 600mm of rain every year and hundreds of rivers which flow through 9 Major River Basins.

During the rainy season when precipitation is heavy, these river basins experience floods which destroy crops and livestock, including people who drown.

Yet, during the 3-month dry season, farmers suffer from crops losses because of the absence of water which could result in food shortages.

#GovernanceIsCommonSense!

#KungGustoMaramingParaan!