For upland farmers, this situation is disastrous. Clashes between the army and the NPA often prevent them from harvesting their crops so that everything goes to waste. Since the farmers cannot stay overnight on their farms, they have to hike or ride horseback to their farms every morning and return in the afternoon. As the farmers are malnourished, the trip is tiring and tedious.
Kapwa is working in some of the areas where farmers are ‘hamleted’. In Sinoron, a very sad thing happened not so long ago. Kapwa had supplied rice seedlings to be planted in the uplands. Out of sheer hunger, some of the farmers had no choice but to cook the seedlings and eat them to be able to survive. Kapwa is now helping the farmers to also grow rubber trees to relieve poverty. Rubber trees don’t need much care and once they are full-grown, you can harvest every other day. There is no threat of harvests going to waste and it cannot feed rebels looking for food. Rubber is expensive, so it would bring a good price. It is a long-term investment, though, since rubber trees need some 7 years to grow.
1 comment:
ja, en de 7 jaren zijn nog niet het enige probleem. Je moet er dan nog voor kunnen zorgen dat gewapende troepen (officiele of andere) niet gaan 'oogsten'. Of zorgen dat de prijzen die de landbouwers krijgen wel voldoende zijn.
Bovendien mag je ook niet vergeten dat het misschien wel geld opbrengt, maar je kan er niet van eten. In tegenstelling tot een gewone groenten/fruit/rijst/graan/ ... oogst. Dus als onze welvarende economieën op een moment weigeren de 'juiste' prijs te betalen, dan hangen ze er nog aan.
Of ben ik nu te pesimistisch :)
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