The crystal ball of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), flashes positive sign of year 2023 having an extension of the importation of rice and corn – staple foods of many Filipinos.
The USDA prediction is based on the 2022 data, but mainly on the low rice production and the extension of lower tariffs by the Marcos administration. Thus, the USDA data reported through its Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) forecasting an importation of 3.8 million metric tons (MT) in 2023, up from 3.4 million MT targeted in 2022. The higher forecast was resorted to offset the production shortfall shown in the figures above.
The country’s Department of Agriculture (DA) leadership debunked the apprehension from the Federation of Free Farmers (FFF), viz., “the country may need to import at least three million MT of rice due to the looming shortage” in production the higher food consumption this year.
The USDA reported that the country’s milled rice production is expected to be lower down to 11.975 million MT from the earlier forecast of 12.411 million MT for the year – the lower production attributed to the damage from Super Typhoon Karding in September 2022. Their observations included the decline in the importation of fertilizer from April to July 2022 as well as the lower nitrogen content by 46 percent of fertilizers imported from July to August of the same year.
Per FAS Manila report showed a reduced corn production, tempered by the high production cost considering that fertilizer plays a major factor. Thus, the USDA sees the country’s corn importation up by 300,000 MT from the earlier projection. The same expectations on corn feed consumption deemed to increase by 300,000 MT due to extension of lower tariffs and competitive future quotes. Corn is a popular component for broilers and layers feeds.
MY COMMENT:
PBBM’s signing for another year of extension of Executive Order 171, means that tariffs rates on select agri-products will be pegged at 35 on imported rice and will return to 40 percent for in-quota and 50-percent out-quota tariffs by January. And for corn, the Philippines will import and consume less wheat in 2023 – lowered the in-quota tariffs on corn imports to 5 percent from 35 percent until end of January 2023. I concur with the USDA expectations on the importations of rice and corn attributing it to low production in the country and the one-year extension of EO 171 – even if the EO (signed by former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte), was meant “to bring down prices and stabilize the supply of agricultural products in the country.
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Be a good influencer
WHEN Christ told his disciples to be the salt and light of the earth (cfr. Mt 5,13-16), we too should feel addressed by such divine command and make ourselves good influencers in a world that is increasingly wracked by confusion and error despite the apparent lights it seems to enjoy due to the powerful developments in the sciences and technologies today.
We can readily conclude from that gospel that what Christ wants is for us to provide Christian flavor in a world that is fast evolving, as well as help in preserving the true Christian spirit in a world that is so exposed to a lot of changes, many of them with their luggage of dangers even as they also offer a lot of benefits.
We also are meant to give light to the others by giving good example and by actively doing apostolate, leading people to God along the right if prudent and tortuous and treacherous paths of this world. With rectitude of intention, we have to inspire others to follow us so that with us they can come to Christ. This is what a good influencer is.
This means that we have to see to it that we inspire others properly. And by that, we mean that the spirit we ‘breathe into’ the others by our mere presence or by our words and deeds, should be the spirit of God.
In other words, to inspire is to infuse the spirit proper to us, the spirit that gives us life and that animates our thoughts, desires, words and actions. And that spirit is ultimately nothing other than the spirit of God who is our Creator and Father, in whose image and likeness we have been created. We need to correspond to that spirit of God.
It’s, of course, good and indispensable that we enjoy our human right of free speech and expression, but we should also give due consideration to the serious duty of exercising that right with a deep sense of responsibility. We should avoid the practice of simply making off-the-cuff comments and shooting from the hip, pure gossiping, backbiting and idle talk, etc.
Especially in the world of public opinion, we should try our best that our views are properly studied and expressed. We should express our opinions, despite contrary positions from others, in a way that would at least leave people enlightened and edified. This can always be done if we truly live by our Christian standards where truth, charity, mercy, fairness, patience and courtesy are always upheld.
We may disagree with others in their views and opinions, but we should avoid being disagreeable. Even in matters of faith and belief, when we feel that a party is clearly in error, we should not feel as if we are entitled to be rude to him. In fact, he should be treated with utmost delicacy.
What is helpful in this regard is to see to it that we do everything always in the presence of God. We should be wary when we would only be guided and driven by our own emotions and passions, if not by our own biases and prejudices. It would be good to know where everybody is coming from in order to facilitate understanding and a meaningful exchange of views.
Let’s always remember that in matters of opinion, we cannot make ours the only right or fair one. We have to respect the opinions of others, even if we do not quite agree with them. In fact, the greater the variety of opinions expressed, the better for all of us, since more things would be put into consideration.