Can't plant rice anywhere?
By Minesky
@Minesky (245)
Philippines
May 30, 2008 2:47am CST
On the news today.... Government bans conversion of rice farm areas for two years.
This would help in the long run..... but would not solve the current problem now.
Might be a silly question from me, can they convert vacant areas into rice farm areas? Thinking the other way around?
Maybe the government should be more pro-active instead of being retroactive? I think I recall in the past news that they encourage people to solve the rice shortage to eat alternative foods like kamote, but I do not see any actions from them to actively solve this problem other than bickering and fighting in front of media.
Municipalities can scan their areas for vacant lots and areas that can be considered for planting, and start from there.
What are the qualities a vacant lot/land should have for it to be plantable?
5 responses
@bunnybon7 (50973)
• Holiday, Florida
20 May 09
thats sad. cant plant rice in your country any more? is it possible to plant and eat something else or is it because of running out of farm land?
@Minesky (245)
• Philippines
20 May 09
Hi bunnybon7!
Not really, our country can still plant rice. It is just that months ago, there was a rice shortage scare, I think it is more due to monopolized distribution, and our government overplaying this situation.
The price of rice almost doubled that time. Now, however, it is a bit controlled and is now hopefully stable.
Thanks for your response!!!
@aseretdd (13730)
• Philippines
2 Jun 08
In theory... that is a good idea... but in practice... that might pose a lot of problems... since most vacant lots are privately owned... the govenment cannot force the owners to plant rice since we are in a democracy... but the banning of the conversion of rice farms might not solve our current problem... but it will surely be a small solution to future rice shortage problems...
@Minesky (245)
• Philippines
2 Jun 08
Hi aseretdd!
Yes, you are correct, the government cannot force owners to plant on their vacant lands, and the banning of conversion of rice farms do serve as a small solution.
Planting food crops in one's own backyard or vacant land, is really not easy, growing up myself with a simple mango tree at the back, we have some of our naughty neighbors coveting the fruits without us knowing. What more with our current situation?
Maybe if the vacant land owned by a person or group of persons is vast or big land area, that can be properly protected, these people can organize to plant food crops that they can sell or personally use.
Thank you for your response!
@tryxiness (4544)
• Philippines
31 May 08
I guess, it has to do with the soil. Not all vacant lots are convertible into rice farms. It also depends on the kind of environment the land area is situated. Also if there's a nearby area that could provide irrigation. :)
@neildc (17239)
• Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines
30 May 08
I guess there are still lots of area that we can plant rice. We just have to search the whole country. Conversion is not practical, I guess. We can find lots of fields in the Visayas and Mindanao. Cebu is just an example. There are still lots of fields here that we can plant rice and other products...
