Right Move! Boost Rice Production, Don’t Rely On Imports

It really feels good to wake up early in the morning and read a story about President Marcos’ directive to Agriculture Officials to boost local rice production instead of relying on importation.
It is like listening to the echo of what I had been advocating all along.
Okey lang mag-import but it is wrong to rely on our neighbors for our rice supply.
We must produce our own rice no matter what the cost is because the moment the rice exporting countries stop selling to the world market, we will have a crisis.
The President’s directive is the correct move as the country faces what could be the worse rice crisis, a result of the brainless rice industry liberalization authored by former Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez.
There is no point hoping for imported rice to relieve the country of this problem because there is simply not enough supply in the world market.
India, the world’s biggest rice exporter, stopped selling rice in the world market and the volume of 21.5-million metric tons account for 40% of the world supply.
There are three very important things the President must do to address this crisis.
1. Order an inventory of all rice stocks in the country by forming a Presidential Task Group Against Rice Hoarding which will inspect all warehouses all over the country;
2. Direct all Local Government Units in agricultural production regions to start a Localized Rice Sufficiency Program by computing their rice consumption and producing it at all cost using their Development and Calamity Funds;
3. Direct the Agriculture Department to realign all funds intended for equipment procurement, including the P5-B under the RTL, and focus on the establishment of small solar irrigation systems costing less than P500,000 each but capable of irrigating 10 to 15 hectares.
These are the urgent measures which must be done or else this administration will bear the brunt of people’s outrage for the blunder committed by Dominguez and his Economic Team.
#GovernanceIsCommonSense!