Rice Shortage in Philippines

The price of rice is sky rocketing all over the world. Why? The supply of rice has decreased due to natural disasters, but rice demand has increased. Philippines is one of the top importers of rice in the world. Why is Philippines an agricultural nation importing rice? Mainly because the governments weak policies for the local rice industry, but many other factors also contributed to this mess. It started in the 1835 when Spain decided to open the Philippines ports. It allowed the country to trade non rice products which were in high demand so rice farmers began to plant them and by 1870 there was already a rice shortage. Along with that there were a few other reasons, as well, the primitive rice culture, meaning no improvement in rice farming technology, the Spanish feudal system meaning farmers didn't enjoy property rights, a religious system that meant 100-120 days of enforced idleness, and farmers were always in debt. Rice is the staple food in the Philippines removing it will cause mass unrest.(The government has to abandon its agricultural liberalization program and its over dependence on rice imports. The government must adopt emergency measures to increase the rice output of farmers. The time has come to implement a genuine agrarian reform. ) (Palatino, 2008)


Palatino, M (April 02, 2008). Why a rice shortage in the Philippines?. Retrieved November 29, 2008, from UPI Asia.com Web site: http://www.upiasia.com/Economics/2008/04/02/why_a_rice_shortage_in_the_philippines/6495/