PBBM: What’s this about inflation and prostituting the farmers? I understand the effects of inflation to all sectors but I do not see INFLATION AND PROSTITUTING THE FARMERS as the stumbling block to our immediate economic recovery. And most of all, how is it connected to my Presidency? I am already drowning with state problems and even international, like imported inflation up to my nose. I could hardly breathe for which reason I have to sometimes sing away my blues since it seems no one could solve this problems for me. Now, I also have the drug and General Bantag problem.
KA MON: Wrong Mr. President. There are those who volunteered to help solve your problems, most of whom are professionals with no political affiliations. A professional agriculturist and farmer like Ka. Sonny wrote you a letter last August offering his services for free and has not even received a thank you letter even if you are not interested in his services. Most of them are no longer interested to join your administration.
PBBM: I will look into that. Now what’s this about inflation and prostituting our farmers?
KA MON: Prostituting is about enticing a person then forcing him into giving up his rights. We have been enticing our farmers about getting profits with subsidies and “ayudas.” Now they have given up their dignity and produce less. In so doing they have contributed (by not fertilizing and not planting) to inflation making food more expensive than before. If you ask an ordinary farmer about inflation he will just stare at you thinking what kind of animal is that? Yet other than manipulating the money supply by our Bangko Sentral (which is already controlled by private banks) less production (because of high input and labor costs) will lead to runaway inflation and unrest, if you will not watch out.
PBBM: So what then must I do?
KA MON: I discussed before seven economic essentials that you have missed until now. I purposedly did not elaborate on the last which is allocating to farmers at least P 10 B in every region. They will then be assisted to produce at least 30 metric tons of rice husk daily to run a 1 MW Gasifier to produce cheap electricity or half the cost of power of a factory. With a factor of 10 a project can produce 300 MT or run a 10- MW power plant in just a 10,000 hectares module of rainfed rice farm owned by 10, 000 farm families, who will be removed from poverty through a wealth sharing scheme developed by his farmers’ federation including the formula on the social engineering needed in just a cycle of 100 days or 3 cycles a year. The sum total of producing the rice husk is also equivalent to producing quality rice to substitute importation.
This development formula in agriculture can be piloted in every region with just 10 percent of the addition P 100 B funds given to DA that will only go down the drain if used under its present policy and banner programs benefitting only 20 percent of the targeted subsistence rice farmers.
PBBM: So, how will I go about it as Secretary of Agriculture, or should I appoint a new Secretary now who will be farmer- friendly?
KA MON: Don’t look at me Sir. I am not interested although I may be qualified. Instead, let the DA bureaucracy remain as is. But as to how to implement the formula I have just explained, like Ka Sonny said…Read my lips, Mr. President. I assure you it’s not as complicated as the short term economic formula of NEDA to produce more rice and bring the targeted farm families above the poverty line of P 250,000 per year.