Folks who farm

I have created a new Facebook Messenger group for the purpose of bringing together all Filipinos who are either planning to go into farming or are already into farming but would like to share ideas and experiences with other farmers.

What do I mean by “farmer”? Normally that would mean anyone who works on farmland for a living, either as a worker, as a tenant or as a farm owner. I would say that all three types are welcome to join the group, but I would also want to attract and invite the so-called “gentleman farmers” or those who are simply just enjoying farming as a hobby.

To put it simply, the purpose of the group is to share information about farming in general, and about growing specific crops or animals in particular. Yes, we are not just talking about agricultural crops, but also poultry, livestock and even fish. That could even include beekeeping, to produce honey.

Hopefully, some of our members will be able to conduct seminars and lectures so that we could be internally self-reliant, but of course we could also invite experts and other resource persons both from the government and the private sector to give us talks. Aside from training, we also hope to share ideas about financing and marketing. Email me at iseneres@yahoo.com.

 

How to make coconut farmers rich

Making coconut farmers rich is a dream that has eluded us for many generations. What is ironic is that even if these farmers have enough coconut trees to make them rich, they are still poor after farming for so many years.

It should be common sense to think that if they have so many coconut fruits to harvest, they should have so much money. But is it that that has not happened? That is because they have missed the other common sense of avoiding the usual practice of making copra.

Making copra from coconuts is a bad habit that has become a way of life among our coconut farmers. As a way of life, it seems difficult for them to get out of the habit, but I think they could still do it, if they are convinced that more money can be made by avoiding the production of copra.

They should realize that by making copra, they not only lose money by losing the oil content, but they also lose money by not being able to make more products from the coconuts.

Aside from that, they also lose money from the aflatoxin like molds that grow in the copra meat. Not only can fresh vegetable oil be made from the white coconut meat, but vinegar can also be made from the fresh coconut water that is usually thrown out.

Alternatively, flour can also be made from white coconut meat. The more products, the more money to make the farmers rich.

 

Democracy and capitalism

In communist countries, the political systems and the economic systems are combined into one system of government. In non-communist countries, the political systems and the economic systems are separate from each other.

In monarchial countries, there is a semblance of democracy because the Prime Minister is the “head of government”, even if the monarch is still the “head of state”.

At least in theory, the political system should prevail over the economic system, in such a way that the politicians hold the political power, while the businessmen hold the economic power. The politicians would tend to be the members of the political dynasties, while the businessmen would tend to be the economic oligarchs, at least generally speaking.

While it is easy for communist countries to control the state-owned companies, it is not so easy in democratic countries, because the economic oligarchs have a lot of influence, even if the politicians have all the power. For a democratic country to prosper, the government must reign over runaway capitalism, so to speak.

To make that possible, those who hold political power should not give way to those who hold economic influence. Not unless that is done, democracy would surely die.