Tuesday, May 06, 2008 So: Rice By Jocy So Unraveling
"THE year began with lunch." So started Peter Mayle's acclaimed book "A Year in Provence," which chronicled the everyday experiences of living in Southern France.
In Provence, Mayle observed how even the simplest food is given careful study and much respect.
During one of the many lunches described he "counted fourteen separate hors d'oeuvres-artichoke hearts, tiny sardines fried in batter, perfumed tabouleh, creamed salt cod, marinated mushrooms, baby calamari, tapenade, small onions in a fresh tomato sauce, celery and chick-peas, radishes and cherry tomatoes, cold mussels... [there] were thick slices of pate and gherkins, saucers of olives and cold peppers. The bread had a fine crisp crust." (Mayle, 95)
The book is in many ways a love letter to food. Any Filipino who has seen Ratatouille can identify with Mayle's admiration for how the French value highly the sensory art of cooking and eating. From truffles to wine to vegetables and fruits, the French not only enjoy their food, they grow their food and do so proudly and protectively.
In light of rising food prices, this attitude makes a lot of sense. Eating the food you planted is cheaper than buying from the market or grocery. And those who cannot grow their own food can instead buy locally or regionally grown produce. This can lead to transport cost and fuel savings. Even if this might not guarantee immediate lower prices compared to huge suppliers like China, in the long run, supporting local farmers helps the local economy and ensures a more stable supply of food to the community.
Since the Philippines is one of the world's largest importers of rice, the idea of growing your own staple food even makes more sense. A great irony today is how the Philippines-- home to the Banaue Rice Terraces and International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), where children sing "Magtanim ay `di biro" and believe that uneaten grains of rice corresponds to the number of pimples in the future, the nation that inspired Fernando Amorsolo's painting, "Planting Rice"-- has to ask its neighbors Thailand and Vietnam for rice to sustain its people.
Without a doubt, Filipinos love rice. Social workers describe how poor Filipinos would give up meat, vegetables but never rice. In the absence of other viands, they would eat rice with noodles, soy sauce, coffee, salt, even water. Filipinos abroad inhale the smell of steamed rice to evoke a sense of home. Rice is so much part of our culinary, cultural, social, and yes even political fiber that it is unthinkable that we do not produce enough of it.
Is it population? Is it the lack of political will and foresight? Is it about money? Is it due to international economic forces? Is it the negative consequences of converting food for biofuel? Yes to all of them. There are many factors contributing to the present rice situation in our country. Reading Mayle's book however, prods me to focus on the problem of why Filipinos do not take pride or greater effort in producing our own rice.
Recently, the government has announced that the country will be self-sufficient when it comes to rice by 2010. New research from IRRI will enable farmers to use rice varieties that can withstand more flooding, therefore yielding more harvest. What is less clearly outlined is what programs are prepared for the people who will plant these new varieties, the rural farmers. Technology is great, but if there are not adequate people to utilize the technology, then it is useless. Vietnam and Thailand don't have IRRI, but they learn from IRRI and other Filipino agricultural experts, and their governments and farmers apply what they learned. And that's why they export rice.
Here are some things our government needs to look into to encourage more people to engage in rice farming. James Scott wrote in "The Moral Economy of the Peasant" that farmers historically espouse what he calls "subsistence ethic," which means, "typically, the peasant cultivator seeks to avoid the failure that will ruin him rather than attempting a big, but risky, killing." (Scott, 4) If this still holds true, then the government must provide safety nets to encourage more people to farm.
The government needs to review agrarian reform policies that provide small plots of land for farmers, but limits their ability to take advantage of the economies of scale and save on production and distribution costs. Disseminating the new IRRI rice variety should also be coupled with proper education and financial support structures to ensure farmers do not go hungry and lose money trying a new type of rice. Government must review the NFA program. Is it really helping Filipinos, especially the rural poor? An increase in rice prices might not be such a bad thing as long as local farmers benefit. In France, truffles cost a lot, but people still buy it, and thus many local people make it as part of their livelihood.
Rice is a single-syllable word loaded with meaning. Whether or not there is truly a rice crisis in our country, the current media focus on our staple food is a great opportunity to analyze whether we are doing all we can to ensure that every Filipino can begin their meal with rice. Rice: we cook it, eat it, want it, line up for it, buy it, love it. May we also do all we can to plant it, and plant enough of it.
