Friday, May 9, 2014

Philippines Agriculture Recovery

Just six months ago the Philippines were ravaged by Typhoon Haiyan. Around 600,000 hectares (1,482,000 acres) of farmland were destroyed. The hardest hit areas were rice production, coconut farms, and fisheries. Many agencies and entities stepped in to assist and because of their efforts Philippine agriculture is on the rebound. Read the article: Philippine Agriculture on the Mend then discuss the points below.

Discussion Points

  1. Do you feel the response by others following the disaster were appropriate from an agriculture standpoint? Would you have done anything differently?
  2. There are many benefits to farmers receiving certified rice seed. Discuss all of the benefits.
  3. Why is diversification the key for many of the small farmers, specifically the coconut farmers?

Additional Challenge

Ag InstructorS—Challenge your students to be policy makers and decision makers. Take your area and give a hypothetical scenario where agriculture products are destroyed due to a natural disaster (flood, drought, hurricane, wildfires, pest infestation, etc.). Take crop insurance out of the equation. How would they respond? What services would they offer? Who would provide this support? Play devil's advocate and have students justify their responses.

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