Letter to the Editor — Too many mouths to feed

The world celebrated World Food Day last October 16, the day on which the Organization was founded in 1945. The World Food Day theme for 2006 is "Investing in agriculture for food security". Yet, many of us are not aware of what the day is.

Agriculture have become a minor player in many economies, like our country, that ironically claims to be an agricultural country, but it must play a starring role on the world stage if we are to bring down the curtain on hunger.

Yet foreign aid for agriculture and rural development has continued to decline. From a total of over US$9 billion per year in the early 1980s, it fell to less than US$5 billion in the late 1990s. Meanwhile, an estimated 854 million people around the world remain underfed.

Most of the world's farmers are small-scale farmers, like the ones in our country. As a group, they are the biggest investors in agriculture. They also tend to have inadequate or precarious access to food themselves. If they can make a profit with their farming, they can feed their families throughout the year and reinvest in their farms by purchasing fertilizer, better quality seed and basic equipment.

There should be cooperation between the public and private sectors in rural development. Ways to bring together producers and agribusiness must me made. The investment climate for agriculture should be improved and essential public goods such as rural infrastructure should be provided.

It's just disheartening to note that the type of educational system that our country has at present does not promote pursuing a career in the agriculture sector. This is eventually a ploy of capitalist countries for us developing countries to be more dependent with imported agricultural goods.

It's a stark reality that still millions wallow in poverty and are suffering from hunger. It's even ironic that the theme for this years celebration is a complete paradox from the real situation of the food security of millions who suffer from hunger.

Jesson J. Morata
Blk. 6 San Miguel Pusok Lapu-Lapu City