What Rice Crisis?
by Hector Bryant L. Macale, Don Gil K. Carreon, and Kathryn Roja G. Raymundo
To its credit, the Philippine press was already sounding the alarm over a possible rice short-age in early March as grain costs rose world wide. But the coverage intensified only after the agriculture chief’s call on fast food restaurants in late March to serve half-portions to prevent wastage, while at the same time assuring the public of adequate supplies.
The press, however, failed to highlight and explain to the public government’s contradictory signals on the rice situation. Both print and broadcasting offered conflicting and confusing news and views on whether the country had a food shortage or a rice price crisis. Instead of analyzing data available such as the ratio between supply and consumption to conclusively report the situation, most reports relied on the conflicting views and reactions of political personalities on the issue. Media’s reliance on political statements and reactions instead of on the statistics and other information available further confused Filipinos.
The press should have looked into why the government was sending discordant messages to the public on the issue.
“We hear the government saying that we have adequate supplies of rice. But on the other hand we also hear government people saying they may come up with an emergency plan,” said Ramon Clarete, an agricultural economics professor at the University of the Philippines. “That’s an inconsistent message.”
Gaps and claims
The news organizations also failed to follow up other leads and to close gaps in the coverage. These included accusations and claims that were not verified. The press should provide background and context on complex issues such as the rice problem, Clarete said. The government’s rice policy, for example, should have been explained better in the news reports.
The press should have also studied whether the government should continue importing rice or aspire for self-sufficiency. Clarete said that going for self-sufficiency or continuing the importation policy involves risks and the government has to assess which is more efficient.
“If we go for self-sufficiency at any cost, there is really nothing much we can do if there is a drought or if super typhoons hit us,” he told PJR Reports. Another concern with regard to self-sufficiency, he said, is that current government programs are not protected from financial wastage due to corruption and bureaucratic inefficiency.
But if the country decides to continue its importation policy, he said, there are also risks that are already evident. “The world market is disturbed by major supply problems and demand shocks that are pushing prices up.”
The press mentioned the P728-million fertilizer fund scam in 2004 and the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program in relation to the current rice problem, but did not sufficiently explain how these issues affected prices and supply.
When President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo announced that she would appoint a deputy ombudsman for agriculture to ensure transparency in the budget allocation for food production last April 4, the press did not look at the exact nature of this new office, given the possibility of duplication of functions with other departments, agencies, and officials.
Neither did the press check if the government-issued family access and barangay identification cards could be tampered with or used for political purposes.
When Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. claimed that Agriculture Sec. Arthur Yap’s father-in-law was involved in the rice trade and therefore raised the issue of conflict of interest last March 27, the reports did not ask Pimentel for his source. Neither did the press go to other sources. When Yap denied the accusation the following day, the press accepted his denial.
In an interview with PJR Reports, former agriculture and trade and industry under-secretary Ernesto Ordoñez also wondered why the press did not investigate whether Yap had consulted with senior government officials, academics, bureaucrats, and farmers regarding the rice issue.
The press also kept referring to a “rice crisis” but did not explain what it meant. Ordoñez said that what the country was experiencing was a crisis in its “mild form” because of relatively high rice prices. He added that the crisis will reach an “extreme form” when the rice supply expected to come from imports does not arrive, since prices will go up even more.
Ordoñez said the press should have known that, one, there is no rice supply shortage in the Philippines at present; but that second, there will be one if imports do not come. Lastly, the country has had always experienced shortages in rice production.
Propaganda tool
The government-owned NBN-4, through its news program Primetime Teledyaryo, consistently presented the statements and actions of the government in a positive light without airing opposing views. It also frequently aired interviews with ordinary people praising government efforts and asking the opposition to stop politicking amid the rice problem.
Positive efforts
To be fair, there were some efforts to provide in-depth discussion. For instance, the Philippine Daily Inquirer published a four-part in-depth report from April 24 to 27 that analyzed issues related to the rice situation. The first part (“Most Filipinos ignored warnings of a ‘perfect storm’”) tackled the global problem of food shortages. The second looked at the National Food Authority’s (NFA) role and activities (“Senator says NFA has become cash cow”), while the third discussed reforms in farming mindsets and practices (“Mindset change needed for richer harvests”). The last part discussed the activities of the Laguna-based International Rice Research Institute (“IRRI’s new miracles: Aerobic, submarine rice”).
The Manila Times provided a two-part special on the country’s agricultural problem and the government’s wrong macroeconomic policies on agriculture (“Rice crisis ‘imminent’ a long time ago,” April 6; ““Rice sufficiency not impossible, experts say,” April 7). Bulatlat’s Benjie Oliveros also analyzed the situation, explaining that the country’s rice problem can only be completely solved with a reversal of government economic programs and priorities (“Missing the Point in the Rice Crisis” April 6-12, http://www.bulatlat.com/2008/04/missing-point-rice-crisis).
Some reports and editorials also reviewed the role and capacity of the NFA, its problems and history. On April 17 and 18, BusinessWorld explained how the food agency is partly responsible for the slow development of the country’s agriculture sector (“The clock ticks for the state grains agency,” April 17; “NFA’s bleeding cannot be sustained,” April 18). The two-part report looked into NFA’s operating losses that could eventually be passed on to taxpayers. BusinessMirror’s April 11-12 editorial also provided background on the NFA and its history (“The NFA is not a business,” p. A10). The long lines at NFA rolling stores had created the impression of “severe shortage, consumer panic, and an administration that seems to be losing control of the situation,” BusinessMirror noted.
A special feature by abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak comprehensively discussed the different ways of increasing rice yield particularly with the use of the system of rice intensification (SRI) rather than planting hybrid rice (“Science community divided over new way to increase rice yield,” April 11, http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storyPage.aspx?storyId=114393). The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism did a similar report last April 21, which traced the SRI’s history and differences from traditional rice planting practices (“Alternative planting method key to rice self-sufficiency,” April 21, http://www.pcij.org/blog/?p=2297). Times columnist Dan Mariano also discussed SRI as a method of increasing rice yields several times in his column (“Big Deal”).
An April 24 GMANews.TV discussed the problems of the country’s irrigation system, and why the P6 billion pesos Arroyo promised to improve the system may not be enough to boost rice production. It also said that only 46 percent or 1.4 million hectares of irrigable land in the country is actually irrigated while the rest has yet to be developed (“P6B for irrigation not enough to address food security problem,” http://www.gmanews.tv/story/91347/P6B-for-irrigation-not-enough-to-address-food-security-problem). GMA-7’s 24 Oras also aired a similar two-part special report on the problem of the country’s irrigation system from April 22 to 23. The report said that the country can have an additional harvest of 4.6 million metric tons of palay if all the irrigable lands available are actually irrigated.
Other notable efforts which fell outside the monitoring period of PJR Reports included BusinessWorld columnist Rene Azurin’s explaining that an international rice cartel will not work (“A silly idea,” May 8). The Inquirer also provided an analysis of the issue by economics professor Ernesto Pernia (“RP food crisis not simply a supply problem,” May 5).
The Inquirer should also be credited for publishing several commentaries on the country’s agricultural situation by former agriculture and trade and industry undersecretary Ordoñez. Ordoñez wrote four analytical pieces on the rice problem during the period PJR Reports monitored. He wrote at least two more pieces after. |
