“Make farmers rich first” – Dr. Romulo Davide, new Magsaysay awardee
A Cebuano agriculturist and five others were heralded as 2012 Ramon Magsaysay Awardees on Friday night.
Said to be the Asian equivalent of the Nobel Peace prize, the award was handed out by President Aquino III to awardees from the Philippines, Indonesia, Taiwan, India, Bangladesh and Cambodia.
Dr. Romulo Davide, an awardee and agriculturist from Cebu explained in a lecture on Thursday, “If the farmers are rich, the town becomes rich, Philippines becomes rich.”
Davide was awarded for “turning farmers into scientist-producers” by pioneering a Farmer-Scientist Training Program in Cebu in 1994. The program links farmers with scientists who teach them about high-yielding crops and modern agriculture techniques. He said with the help of the program, local farmers are now able to make at least P125,000 a year compared to almost nothing the year before.
An article by Inquirer pointed out that Davide’s win may bring fresh support for the neglected role of agriculture.
Davide said, the farmers “have no right to be poor. And we have no right to keep them poor. But that’s what’s happening.”
He is hoping that the government will adopt the program nationwide.
Page 1 of 3 | Next page
- Excited
- Fascinated
- Amused
- Bored
- Sad
- Angry