El Niño has brought out the worst in the government. Two farmers died in Kidapawan City, Cotabato province on April 1 after police violently dispersed a demonstration to protest government’s inaction on the dry spell.
The farmers’ demand was basic—they need rice to feed their family after El Niño parched the lands they were tilling. The National Anti-Poverty Commission summed it up: the demonstrations only reflect the magnitude of the El Niño crisis and the government’s lack of commitment to agriculture.
The agency added that provoked or not, the demonstration was a legitimate form of action. Regardless of the rallyists’ affiliations, the use of firearms by the local police was unnecessary.
It is very clear that Agriculture Secretary Prospero Alcala and the rest of President Benigno Aquino’s administration failed to comprehend the severity of the drought, especially in Mindanao, where thousands of hectares of farm lands were rendered unproductive.
The farmers’s protest in Kidapawan City to demand the release of 15,000 sacks of rice and food subsidies to alleviate their plight can happen again in other areas similarly suffering from the effects of El Niño. The protest actions could also turn bloody if the government continues with its apathetic behavior.
The government must take the blame for the violent results of the demonstration and for being passive in containing the effects of El Niño. For one, the government should have dispersed drought-resistant rice and other crops to farmers to prepare them for the weather phenomenon.
The worsening drought that prompted Cotabato farmers to take extra-legal measures also showed that the government still lacks long-term solutions to address El Niño. Mindanao, with its vast water resources, could have shielded itself from the dry spell.
The National Irrigation Administration could have taken the intiative to build more mini-dams and irrigation canals to water rice fields and other farm lands. Rice is a vital commodity that the government should not have taken lightly.