Discipline: History, Political Science, Social Entrepreneurship
The recent crisis and economic instability in the country have once again brought farming to the center stage as hopes for survival among majority of the Filipinos are pinned on the much ballyhoed “sariling sikap” program. Underlying the jingles of this program is the assumption that for as long as every Filipinos tries to be “industrious,” survival would not be that difficult to come by.
In view of the seeming earnestness with which the government pursues the “sariling sikap” concept, it may be an opportune time to examine once again that sector of the national community upon whose shoulders was thrust the burden of feeding and nourishing the entire Filipino community – the peasant cultivators of the country.