Week 10 Alaina Cagalingan

The article ‘Toward sustainable coffee production in Vietnam’ showed through research and studies that there is a great potential for Vietnam to have a sustainable production of coffee, maximizing water usage and implementing efficient irrigation systems. The country had been successful in the production of coffee, producing 40% of total global Robusta production, with Brazil producing Arabica coffee. In order to efficiently produce a good sum of coffee beans, farmers must follow precautions in handling the harvest each year. If soil is not maintained or water consumption not watched over, this could decrease the optimal coffee produce.

Just like Vietnam, the Philippines is also facing issues in maintaining and maximizing its agriculture resources. In fact, the Philippines is also experiencing some problems with their agricultural aspect such as soil erosion, water pollution, and groundwater depletion, which could harm other species and also diminish biological diversity. In order to deal with this problem, the Department of Agriculture, a government established agency, helps facilitate any movement within the field. They focus on providing programs to educate farmers and fishermen away from risks and damages, but rather to maximize production of the agri-industries. In line with their goal, they also attempt to a increase farm income and also generate work opportunities for other farmers, fishermen, and other rural workers. The department resolves problems within its field before handing over to the government. This demonstrates a 'divide and conquer' way of leadership, which is productive in finding solutions immediately. Within the department of agriculture, there are other bureaucracies such as Bureau of Agricultural Research, Bureau Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Bureau of Plant Industry, and 18 others. My concern arises: Since corruption is prevalent in the country, if given a budget to improve resources of the Department, I fear that the value of the project would diminish every time it is handed down to a smaller department due to dishonest leaders. This is one type of problem that I imagine coming from the process of divide and conquer. My question is: which leadership should be more efficient in successful promotion of an aesthetic, one that involves more bureaucracy or one with less?

The image above depicts the beautiful Banaue Rice Terraces, recognized as the "8th Wonder of the World". Some locals still plant rice and vegetables up to this date. It is certainly beautiful and should be promoted more by the government.

Image URL:  http://www.bestourism.com/img/items/big/1423/Banaue-Rice-Terraces-in-Philippines_Overview_5766.jpg

Work Reference:

Upali A. Amarasinghe, Chu Thai Hoanh, Dave D’haeze, and Tran Quoc Hung, “Toward Sustainable Coffee Production in Vietnam: More Coffee with Less Water.”