BY RUDIE R. BUENO
IF teaching is said to be the noblest of all professions, farming could also be the most important of all occupations during this contemporary period.
Humankind has to survive with food and other necessities. After the stone age when hunting began to wane as an occupation in about 10,000 BC, man started to cultivate land to produce food. Up to this day the farmers play a basic, albeit major, role in the survival of humanity.
To say “my parents are just ordinary farmers” is, therefore, wrong or not justified at all.
The Philippines is still, after many centuries of toil, basically a primary agricultural country. But while farmers in many developed countries are very rich, our farmers who provide food for us Filipinos are among the poorest in this “pearl of the orient” nation.
There must be something that we have missed out with the way we are treating this very important sector of our society – the farmers. While there are so many laudable programs of government, these efforts may not be good enough to address the issue.
Needless to say but more should be done to improve the plight of farmers so that they are – not only taught to produce food but more so – greatly inspired to contribute their efforts in the food security and livelihood means of Filipinos.
The farmers must be given the support they need (more than just palliative “ayuda”) so that they can find meaning or worth in what they are doing for all of us who surely cannot live without food on the table.