Monday, May 12, 2008 Pangan: Fields By Benjie R. Pangan At Close Range
SOME sectors or aggrupations have the penchant of using acronyms to identify their groups, as in Toda for tricycle operators and drivers association, Osca for Office of Senior Affairs. Of course, we are familiar with Upao or Lupaho, for urban poor affairs office. There are many more such acronyms invented or concocted for, obviously, easy recall.
The government cannot be left behind in the branding of its agencies. Local government units, too. Aside from its CCR, or City Civil Registrar, MCR for Municipal Civil Registrar, they have catchy slogans like Magsilbi Tamu of the City of San Fernando, Misanmentung Mabalacat, Paspas Capas, and so on.
The National Government too has its own acronyms to easily recall names of its agencies, offices and subsidiaries and programs such as the Masagana 99 of yore, Ginintuang Masaganang Ani or GMA and of late, Fields which stands for fertilizers, irrigation and other rural infrastructure, education and training for farmers, loans, dryers and other post harvest facilities and seeds.
The Chinese-looking secretary of the Department of Agriculture (DA) has been active lately, as compared to his previous lackluster performance and he is hyper on the P43.7 billion Fields program ostensibly to bid for rice self-sufficiency which, as we all know, may be another shot in the dark, another quixotic venture, another tira bulag.
Well, anyway, just to give the Chinito his pleasure of trotting around like a peacock or peking duck, whichever description fits him best, the ambitious program suddenly takes concern of the long-abused and disadvantaged farmers (now the heroes of the day!) and announces planned massive production and propagation of new high-yielding seed varieties and the expanded subsidy for the farmers.
Aren't these plans too late to be implemented since the rainy season is upon us? Why the cramming in such short notice? What has the DA been doing all along, long before the crisis was still manageable and not now that we are scrambling to procure the 'gold' grain?
Surely, the national leadership cannot blame media and its political foes for the burgeoning rice crisis. It has only itself and concerned agencies to blame for the gnawing, hair-removing, cuticle-crunching nightmare of a rice crisis.
Where are the bright boys of the government? Where have they been hiding or hibernating? In Switzerland, perhaps?
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IRONIC. Some decades ago, we were self-sufficient in rice. We even taught Thailand and other Southeast Asian nations the technology to produce quality rice varieties. We still have the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), headed by a foreigner no less, a certain Robert Ziegler, but where are we now?
The rice crisis has unearthed our inability to produce enough for our population and yet we were boastful of the IRRI? It is indeed ironic that those we taught at IRRI are now at the forefront in rice production and we are at the tail end in the race. We never learn, do we?
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DEFIANT Burma. Despite pleadings from the international community, the ruling military junta in this beleaguered country is steadfast in its decision not to allow donors led by the United States to land in the typhoon-ravaged third world nation in order for the aid-givers to monitor food and medical supplies intended for the victims.
Worse, some of the landed supplies were already intercepted by the military men. Sounds familiar?
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ONE point for Jesli. In the news is the revelation of Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Jesli Lapu that he wishes jail time for parents who intentionally or deliberately do not send their children to school. Jesli was reacting to the punitive bill recently filed by Representative Rufus Rodriguez.
He also said poverty is not an excuse to defer the education of children and that education is an anti-poverty measure. Well and good, Sec.
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MORE outreach programs. The singular gesture of Mabalacat Mayor Boking Morales to reach out to indigent children is worth mentioning and if, possible, be emulated. This way, more beneficiaries will get more blessings from the kind-hearted.
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KEEP Astro Park clean and green. I suggest that the maintainers of this joggers' area continue to keep the park clean and clear of litter brought by insensitive promenaders. I notice that a portion of the pavement near the entrance to the jogging area is cracked and may pose risk to the joggers. Paging, Engineer Bien Mateo and Jerry Arenas, please.
