Entrepreneurial Farmer by Ambrosio R. Villorente

Wasting Rice

Food is one of the basic personal needs and for an average Filipino wage earner, 52 percent of his daily wage is going to food.

Rice is one of the ingredients of a Filipino diet. To produce rice is a long and tedious process from land preparation, transplanting, care of plants, and harvesting. To produce one kilogram of palay, it requires 1500 kilograms of water from land preparation up to harvesting. In land preparation up to transplanting, the feet of the farmers are buried in the mud while the rest of his body is exposed to sunlight or rain.

According to the rice specialist in UP at Los Banos, College of Agriculture, 10 to 30 percent of the palay grains is lost from harvesting, to transporting, to storing and in milling.

On the table, 16 grams or ¼ cup per person per day is lost. At P24 per kilogram rice, the 100 million Filipinos must be losing billions worth of rice on the meal table annually. 

According to the Food and Nutrition Institute, Department of Science and Technology study, edible food wastes include plate wastes, food fed to pets and domesticated animals, pot wastes or burned rice and spoilage, or any other edible food materials, raw or cooked that family members failed to eat. 

Other food wastes amounting to one gram per person per day are from corn and its products, vegetables, and fish and its products. The FNRI survey found negligible amount of food wastes come from other cereals, starchy, roots and tubers, fats and oils, meat and poultry, eggs, dried beans, and fruits.

In another study by Gracia M. Villavieja, Scientist I shows that edible food wastes tend to be greater among smaller households. She observed there is abundant supply of food among households with few members and higher edible food wastes in households with domesticated animals.

Food wastage was also higher among households with larger budget in food. The families with higher budget for food have higher food wastage compared to families with less food purchasing power.

TODO ASENSO

“Todo Asenso” are two words now being inscribed in billboards posted by the road sides where public work construction projects like road repair and bridge constructions. Todo Asenso billboards are seen in two bridges widening projects, in Marianos and Bulwang, Numancia.

What does it mean when we say TODO ASENSO? These are Spanish terms. TODO means fast, rapid, swift, and speedy. Hence, fast action, rapid result, swift progress or speedy action.

ASENSO means progress, moving forward or onward, advancing toward perfection, toward better life, moving forward course.

In Aklanon, TODO means madasig and mabakas. Asenso means pag umwad o pag uswag. TODO ASENSO therefore means rapid, fast and speedy growth. It may be swift progress, speedy action, rapid movement toward better, peaceful and contented living. Madasig o mabakas nga pag umwad agud madangatan ro malinong, mahidaiton ag malipayong pangabuhi it tanan sa Aklan.

TODO ASENSO billboards are especially posted in sites where there are ongoing public works constructions. It is also posted in conspicuous places as one is posted on the corner of Roxas Avenue and A. Mabini Street, Kalibo, Aklan.

One good thing with TODO ASENSO is its positive reinforcement effect on people who are busy doing good and who are fast progressing.

However, the author of this TODO ASENSO billboard aims to claim credit for these infrastructure projects in progress. TODO ASENSO billboards are mostly posted in the site of public works construction such as bridges and roads. These billboards must motivate the workers to work fast and rapidly. But the work is becoming slow as demonstrated in the Marianos bridge and Bulwang Bridge Widening projects in Numancia, Aklan. 

Instead of TODO ASENSO, it is FOCO ASENSO, mahinay ro pag umwad or slow progress. However, we want TODO ASENSO, rapid progress ag Madasig nga Pag umwad. /MP