The last wake-up call

GOOD Morning friends, what another great day we have. Someone once said,” Life is like a wild goose chase, without the goose”. A search for a truly loving relationship can be like that. But, in the midst of the search, however, a book as trustworthy as the bible assures us that the creator of the universe cared so much for us, that me came seeking after each one of us. In a world of loneliness, despair and rejection, the bible offers hope and encouragement. Remember the words given to a blind beggar named Bartimaeus “Be of good cheer – He is calling you”. (Mark 10-49). Yes, the creator cares for you also. I have someone who cares for me – who has made me and cares about me. Someone I can go to with my troubles and my cares, and my Joys. If you've never done so before, Accept the gift of Salvation. Trust Jesus with your life. Lets pause for a moment: Pleasures of earth, So seemingly sweet, fail at the last my longings to meet, only in thee my Bliss is complete only, Blest Lord, in thee. Happiness depends on happenings Joy. Depends on Jesus!!

Our topic: The continuation of my topic last week will carry on at a later date, this week I want to write about. Something that is close to my heart, “Farming as a way of life is under threat”. Over the years I've been writing about the value of Agriculture, but at times, I felt to no avail. But then, an article in the press on Sunday 22 Oct. 06 stirred my enthusiasm. I am of course referring to visit by the Bhutan agriculture minister Mr. Lyon Po Sangay Ngedup. He was the keynote speaker in the gathering that was organized by the Southeast Asia Regional initiatives from community empowerment, An NGO that promotes community-based initiatives that addresses food security.

One thing that he spoke about, I have written about many times and that is the younger generation leaving the farms to seek a better life and leaving the older generation to do the work and rub the business. I agreed with him when he said – quote “We cannot allow this to happen”. End of Quote. He also urged governments to look deeper into the needs of farmers to find out what will encourage them to remain in the farms and to make Rural Life again more attractive to them. The one things the government should do is to give importance to farmers, support them and provide them with the necessary environment and help them realize their potential in my column I have said many times that Agriculture must be the back bone of a nations economy. It was nice to read a column where the writer was emphasizing my previous statements. The minister also said the most important thing a farmer looks for is self-sufficiency and food security. Going beyond that he said farmers also want a better life for their children. With young people leaving the farms, this is surely a threat to food sustainability and security, this should of course be answered by the government of that country.

The big thing that I understand about his comments were that there is a great need to look into sustainability and food security a lot deeper. Because how much do we really understand about both these items? It was a little distressing to read that fewer Agriculture students enrolled at the CVSCAFT this year. I only hope that this trend can be reversed.

The ministers visit and his observations I hope will be an inspiration to the people involved, the country must place more emphasis on its agriculture and farmers if they are to survive. As I've said many, many times, the natural resources are here, So lets utilize them to their fullest. The young people will continue to drift away from the land unless more attractive incentives can be implemented. I think the province should target the young people in their programmed of poverty reduction, If their knowledge on nature and things connected to survival could be increased, then may be they would be more willing to help make Bohol self sufficient and self supporting. It's a great place to live, and I will do all I can to help the farming community here. Yes, young people, farming is a way of life. Why not give in a try. Take care, see you next week.