The irony in our rice

Cielito Habito’s piece “Momentum breakers” (Opinion, 10/16/18) is sobering. It made me wonder where our country is going and if our economy would end up in shambles.

Unchecked economic problems will likely deteriorate into political chaos and a precarious national situation.

I can understand the spiraling interest rates and oil prices, for they are beyond our control. But I have difficulty reconciling his point on the spike in rice prices, since we are an agricultural nation and yet we import our staple food from neighboring countries that studied in our agricultural universities.

Why do we import rice during harvest time? Why don’t we import ahead of the lean months to ensure ample reserves? Also, why do we convert rice lands into posh housing subdivisions? A hectare that produces 200 sacks of palay per harvest season but is sold to commercial developers means a loss of rice supply.

I concur with Habito that if our country is economically dislocated and pushed into penury, we have nobody to blame but ourselves.

BOB GABUNA, bob.gabuna@gmail.com