Farmers decide to organize

Media

Part of Farming and Cooperatives

Title: Farmers decide to organize
Language: English
Source: Farming and Cooperatives, 1 (1) November 1945; 1+
Year: 1945
Subject: Farmers--Social conditions.
Rights
Fulltext: FARMING and COOPERATIVES Vol. I No. I November, 1945 MESSAGE of President Osmena . . 3 The Revitalization of Our Agriculture, Industries and Commerce Vicente Singson-Encarnacion . . . . 5 The Need for Guidance and Encouragement Jose S. Camus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Rehabilitation Problems of Our Rural Districts Manuel A. Roxas . . . . . . . . 7 Currency and Stable Agriculture Andres V. Cariillo . . . 8 The Premises of Philippine Rural Economy Eustaquio G. Aquino . . . . 8 Philippine Agriculture at the Crossroads Hilarion S. Silayan 12 Machines and P~ I. Agriculture P. L Jusay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 ·Ramie, the Coming Crop . . . . . 15 President Quezon Glorifies the Filipino Farmer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 . Prospects for Food . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 The Rebirth of Cooperative Enterprise in the Philippines . . . . . . 18 The Cooperative Way of Life A. De Castro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Our Journal and Our Rural Problems 32 DEPARTMENTS Progressive Farming . . . . . . . 21 Rural Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 The March of Events ............ 24 Learn Tagalog the Proper Way ... 24 Wtth the Wind, the Sun and the Rain 26 Our Rural Scouting Plan . . . . . . . . . 26 EDITORIAL Stable Farm Prices, A 'Basic Need of Our Rural Economy . . . . . . . . . 32 INDEX OF ADVERTISERS ....... . FARMING AND COOPERATIVES is published monthly by the Philippine Farmers Association. Hilarion S. Silayan, e.ditor; P. L. Jusay, managing edi·tor; and Raul R. de Arana, business manager. Subscription rates: f'6.00 for ai.x months and Pl0.00 yearly. Editorial and Business Offices: 1001 Oroquieta comer Lope de Vega, Manila, Philippines. • • FARMING AND COOPERATIVES FARMERS DECIDE TO ORGANIZE (List of farmers heading' the Philippine Farmers Association. tional list to be published in our next issue.) AddiMANUEL GALLEGO-N. Ecija GABRIEL BELMONTE-N. Ecij• ANTONIO \"ILLARA~IA-Bulac•n JOSE COJUANGCO--TarlacX E.-Pan~. JUAS COJUANGCO--Tarlac·Paug .. N. E. EDUARDO COJUANGCO--Tarbc-P•ng.·N. E. LUlS DE LEON-?\. Ecija CECILIO DE LEON-Bular•n NARCISA Yd•. De DE LEON-Bu!Jcan RlCARDO GO!'\ZALES--Panc::i.sin<m N!CANOR JACl:>TO--N. Ecija EULOGIO RODRIGUEZ. Jr.-Rizol SENEN GABALDON-N. Ecija HIL~RION S. SILAYAN-Ril31 JOSE ~1ARIA'.':0-Bulacan FER~· A~DO ACCEXA-Pangasinan FELIPE RO~fAN-Bataan LEOCADIO BELTRAN-N. Ecija SOTERO BALUYOT-Pampan<a HILARIO~ BEXEDICTO-!\'".t:"ros Occ. ~tA~liEL GOXZALEZ, Jr.-~lanila-Pan~. CARLOS PELLICER-X"gro5 Occidcntal·Panc;. ARSENIO ESCUDERO-La,una LUIS LICHAUCO-Pimgasinan EMILIO RUSTIA-Bulacan SlXTO SISON-Datangas RAFAEL \"IOLA-Bulacan EUGENIO BALTAO-N. Ecija RAFAEL MORALES-Pampauga JOSE CASTl10-Paug:asinan Jl~AN DAVID-UuJ;ican ENGRACIO Cl.DIENA-Tarlac MAXUEL ALZATE-N. Ec1ja FLORENTINO CHIOC0--1'. Ecija ANDHES GOSECO-Pamp:inc:a MARIA~O MARFORI-LH;-una A. P. HEYES--Uataan RICAROO l.l:\SA:-."GA:\-~. Ec1ja Gl!II.LER,\10 P. (;l'C\"ARA-Tar!Jc MARIA\'O <;AHCHITORENA-C.un. Sur \!ARIANO ,J. SAf\TOS--Pa:npan~a RAFAEL P. JOSO'.'i-Bulacan FEI IX B.\t:Tl~TA-Parnp:1n~.1 TIM<HEO VILI.AH-P;.i:,L'..:·in<io Al 1 Gl'~TO ~-\\'lll:--Il1n! f':in~. (001ttin11cd 011 page SJ) INDEX OF ADVERTISERS (Alphabetically Listed) Ang Tibay 9 8 12 Atlas Trade Development Associated Stores, Inc. . ....... . Corporation ........... . A. S. Vega & Co., Inc ........... . (Contin11ed 011 page ~6) of inking 'Two Worlds . Advertising Agency General Merchandise Hardware Indent Dept. Electric Motors & Machinery Office Equipment & Supplies Chemicals & Lab. Equipment t=4V l:A§T AMl:VICA~ COMMERCIAL CO., INC. MaiQ Office: 2nd Floor, Villonco Bldg. MANILA Quezon Blvd. "The House Which Spells Service" Branch: Novelty Store 39 Escolta 6 1 rather than later they come to an e-nd. 'l'he decline in prices after an uncontrolled inflation could not always be arrested so as to stop at what is considered a normal level. Prices continue to fall and as the saying goes, the higher yo~ go the harder you fall. The whole world is at present girding to confront deflation that most authori~ ties predict will follow after the present enu:rgency. What happens during the penod of deflation is the opposite of that of inflation. The debtor class bears the brunt while the creditor class receives all the benefits. Because of this it is often thought that deflation is t~ be deprecated because it is the rich that are mostly be.nefited, the rich being synonymous with the creditor class. This is a con~ption that is not entirely in accord with actual facts, for most creditors are people who have small income o: savinl!s accumulated over a long period of time from meager earnings· creditors are composed mostly of peopl; who belong to the middle class, in manv cases \\idows and retired employees who are providing for old age, while debtors a re ehiefily la.rge ·col"porations, large farmers, industrialists and substantial businessDten who owe the banks Ol" investors. These groups are adversely affected by deflation, but they could easily make the necessaey adjustments to take care of any emergency. It is the p<'Ople who are lea.st able to protect themselves from the orgy of inflation or the harshness of deflation that are the worse hit and suffer the greatest injustices that follow these two economic ills. Need for a Sta'bl1! Currency System The fa.ct that in the long run nobody is t"eally benefited by fluctuations in the value of money, it should be a prime objective of all governments especially in the postwar period to establish and maintain a stable currency system. The .Bretton Woods agreement laid the groundwork for a stable international currency system. While stable prices as an aim of monetary policy are quite unattainable and of doubtful utility, what is needed in the Philippines is a more modem currency system that could meet the requirements of trade and industry during the period when reconstruction and t"ehabilitation are the dominating consideration in any economic program drafted and carried out by the government. For it must be admitted that the present currency system is outmoded to cope with the demands of a remodeled Philippine economy. The principle upon which the currency system as at present constituted is based bf>longs to the nineteenth century when the gold standard was the predominant monetaey standard. To continue under that system during the second half of the twentieth century is to close our eyes to the lessons painfully learned by other progressive nations during the last generation. To insist upon a 100 per cent backing at this time when most countries are on managed currency, to insist that we have an "automatic" currency system today, is to hang on ·to a tradition that would be a definite dra.wback to our .economic _progress. · A comprehensive reform of the currency system is clearly necessary and .FARMING AND COOPERATIVES FARMERS DECIDE TO ORGANIZE ( C<mti1111cd from page 1) A T a i·ccent meeting of the Central ~uzon farmers who are in Manila, 1t has been decided to form the Philippine Farmers Association in order to pool the efforts of all the farmers of the country in cooperating with the government in the speedy rehabilitation of the farmers, the forms, and the rural districts in general. The names of those who are heading this important movement are listed on page 1. Due to diffi. culties in transportation and communication it was not possible to contact many others bei'ore the November issue of Farming and Coopemtives goes to press. We are passing the information to all the farmers and former colleagues in the n1ovement for improveJnent of agriculture and request that they contact us in our headquarters at 1001 Oroquicta, Manila. illr. Ricardo Gonzales, of Pangasinan, has been designated as temporary Chairman and Treasurer, until the Association can meet for election of regular ofticers. The need for a strong and militant organization among the farmers of the Philippines is now imperative. In view of the complex problems of agricultural rehabilitation and the urgent demand for adequate production of food and raw materials for local industries and for export the farmers should organize to be able to meet their concrete needs and problems. It has been the ordinary experience during economic depressions to find the prices of farm products always to be first to come down in the downward movement of prices of commodities. On the other hand during booms when the prices go upward, the prices of farm products remain last at the bottom of the rising trend. In both cases the farmers suffer. During the i·ecent economic disturbance in our community brought about by war, the farmers suffered from destruction of farms, equipments and work animals, unfair prices, poor distribution channels, lack of transportation and meager credit facilities. Unless the farmers therefore get toshould be undertaken immediately after the political situation has cleared. Amendments to the cunency law undertaken merely as an incident in the search for more funds to balance the budget are futile to remedy a major problem. The chief featu1·es of a comprehensive monetary reform would be ( 1) the creation of a single currency reserve fund instead of the two separate funds at present which in fact function as a unit., and at a lower percentage to the total circulation, and (2) the establishment of a Central Bank to manage the currency system in accordance with the needs of industry and trade. A modern Central Bank Act would, to my mind, constitute a much needed amendment to our present currency law. A Central Bank Act should be one of the first Jaws to be passed by an independent Philippines. gether and do something for themselves it is likely that during this period of national economic i·econstruction and rehabilitation aid due the farmers may not be made available on time. The Philippine Farmers Association is organized so that there may exist an official p1·ivate organ to voice the need of our farms, that there may be established a working agency which may cooperate with the government to keep the farmers abreast with the progress of the fast changing economic world. It shall inform the farmers of valuable improvements in farm practices, create interest among them for concerted action to secure protection and favorable sympathy from the public that is due the most fundamental of human calling in the Philippines, farming. In order to make the association virile and able to render the fruitful services contemplated in its charter of organization, it was decided to make the association a stock corporation. The scope of work of the association is outlined in the following program vf activities. 1. Membership Drive To secure within one year as many farmers as possible to be members. 2. To establish in Manila a headquarters of the Association which will serve as: (a) Information service office for members on prices, land values, farm machineries, farm practices, agrarian problems, etc. (b) Agency for members on procurement of essential commodities, sales of farm products and employment. (c) Publish an Agricultural Journal. 3. Organize farmers' convention and farmers' cooperatives. 4. Promote a militant representation of the farmers' interest and welfare in the rehabilitation and reconstruction movement, both in Government as well as private commercial and industrial circles. 5. Organize the Associations' income producing projects to provide a stable financial support for the activities, and create investment opportunity for farn1ers. First in line of these undertakings is the construction of the Farmers Building in Manila which shall stand as the monument of the farmers unity and firm resolve to make farming a stable occupation. Farmers all over the country are asked to help this movement in order to realize the erection of the much needed Farmers Building within the earliest possible time. The Farmers Building will serve as the firm foundation of the organized efforts of the farmers to make agricultural production stable. * * * Join the Philippine Farmers Association Now! * * * .Sl