Rice crisis

While driving home last Saturday night at 3 o’clock in the morning, reality struck hard when we passed an endless line of people queuing towards a shop that sells government subsidised rice. Rice production in the Philippines is low and prices are high. Because very little of the demanded rice is produced locally, rice has to be imported from elsewhere. Since subsequent governments have failed to develop a consistent policy on food sovereignty, the Arroyo administration is now obliged to subsidise imported rice to feed the people. As one journalist noted, nothing is as clear a sign of coming trouble as hungry people roaming the streets. One could argue that the government tries to alleviate hunger by subsidising rice, but ‘charity’ is always the privilege of those in power and people should not be dependent on the government for their daily rice. Because of the shortage, some people spend the night in front of the shop to make sure they can buy the 2 kilos of rice they are entitled to. The only question that popped into my head when seeing the endless queue was why people insist on eating so much rice if prices are so high. I was immediately embarrassed about the foolishness of my question and the shallowness of my knowledge. It goes to show that even when reality is at your fingertips you can still fail to grab it. It is one of the odd consequences of being here without working yet: reality is all around, but it only leeks through the cracks in your perception slowly. Let’s just say I was not too proud of myself being escorted home in a air-conditioned car after a night out and questioning the need of people to stand in line for rice. I guess everyone who works in development goes through moments like these, but I really want to resist becoming cynical about it.