Resentment is brewing as Philippine govt fails yet again to address the plight of growers. It has been three years since the shooting of protesting farmers by policemen in the southern Philippine province of Cotabato. The farmers were demanding 15,000 sacks of rice and the immediate release of disaster funds to address an ongoing drought brought about by the El Nino phenomenon. At least three protesters were killed, 116 wounded and 89 reported missing after policemen dispersed about 6,000 farmers and tribal people who blocked a major highway in the province. Today, the same farmers say nothing has changed. The onslaught of this year's dry season has brought about new threats amid what they described as "government inaction."The Department of Agriculture estimates the total damage to agricultural produce this year has already reached about US$8.78 million. The amount translates to about 23,000 metric tons of production loss, affecting more than 16,000 farmers and fisher folk. In provincial capital Kidapawan, almost crops worth almost US$1 million have already been damaged, according to farmers' group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas. The dire conditions farmers are facing now bring to mind the days and months leading to the march that ended in the shooting tragedy on April 1, 2016."I cannot remember the details, but I can always remember how I dodged bullets and evaded the arrest teams," said Win Sulang.In the aftermath, then Davao mayor Rodrigo Duterte was quick to tell then president Benigno Aquino that hungry farmers do not deserve to be shot. Almost three years under President Duterte, farmers continue to endure the same ineptness. Sulang says the people's calls for help have seemingly fallen on deaf ears just like before. The Philippines is no stranger to the El Nino phenomenon and about a dozen droughts have hit the area in the past 50 or so years. But the country's leaders are almost always caught off guard.Sulang's source of income has already been affected. His rubber trees are drying up. He earns about US$60 a month, compared to more than double that in the past."We sell the latex for about US$0.40 per kilogram, but the price of rice has soared to about US$1 per kilogram. How do you expect us to eat decently?" he said. The vegetable patch in his backyard has already turned brown because of the heat.It does not help that the likes of Sulang continue to endure centuries-old problems, such as a lopsided work scheme with landowners that gives farmhands only a third of the produce."We have been collectively struggling for a more equitable share. We want at least 50 percent," said the farmer. Sulang said children suffer the brunt of dry spells and the poverty they bring. "My eldest son does not want to attend school anymore because he said he does not want to be a burden on the family," he said. He hopes the government will heed farmers' demands instead of dismissing them outright by tagging protesters as communist rebels. The government has already turned to cloud seeding in Mindanao, hoping to bring enough rain while Sulang, and farmers like him, continue to cry for justice. Source - https://www.ucanews.com/