West of Paris is Poissy, what we would call a municipality of 37,000 people, its population basically unchanged since 1970.
Over this past weekend, the Associated Press printed a story in the run up to France’s first round presidential election held last Sunday. In France, a nail-biting election as Macron’s rival surges read the headline.
For me the election was not important, but the article caught my attention for the language and tone.
The article written by John Leicester begins, “From the market stall outside Paris that she’s run for 40 years, Yvette Robert can see first-hand how soaring prices are weighing on France’s presidential election.”
“Shoppers, increasingly worried about how to make ends meet, are buying ever-smaller quantities of Robert’s neatly stacked fruits and vegetables,” she says. “People are scared—with everything that’s going up.”
The phrase “people are scared” is a translation of the French “les gens ont peur.” But more accurately the English should be “The people are afraid.” The word “scared” comes from the Old Norse for “timid” as a child might be around a family pet, or an adult startled by slammed door.
But “afraid” comes from the Anglo-Norman French word “afrayer,” meaning an emotion caused by an actual danger or threat. The Middle English “affraien” has an even stronger meaning—“to terrify.” And the French word “peur” is from the Old Irish word úath for “horrible.”
Are you afraid? Who could blame you? Just look at the headlines. There’s a lot of bad situations coming down right now not least of which is rising fuel prices in the Philippines. Or is there any reason for fear?
If you look closely at the presidential election, there seems to be only one issue from the “Opposition” candidates. “I am NOT Bongbong Marcos—son of the Dictator—and I am more NOT Bongbong than the other candidates.” There is nothing wrong with that. The Martial Law period and after were extraordinarily difficult times. The justification, the implementation, and the results are almost side issues.
However, aside from the “Marcos” discussion, it seems like we need a “Kinder and Gentler War on Drugs.” We need more “Build, Build, Build” only “Better.” And the term paper for this election is “Defining Character vs. Competence: Which Would You Choose?”
Otherwise, every candidate is on board with “All of you—except for the rich guys of course—need more government money. But if you and your group are not on the list, just tell me so I can Show You The Money and you Show Me The Vote.”
Covid prevention was a campaign issue. Geopolitics has not changed since Duterte moved the needle along the fine line the Philippines must tread between China and USA. The West Philippine Sea issue is still with us but nobody cares outside of our borders. You really need videos of body bags to get the world excited.
But the critical issue for the next administration is food. That is something the candidates can only talk about in broad terms and with solutions like “A key advocacy area is food security and nutrition” and “The agricultural sector should be able to provide a secure and strategic food supply.”
How bad is the situation? Global food prices jumped to a new record high, soaring the fastest on record. March’s food price index from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations was up 33 percent from last year and 13 percent month-on-month.
The Philippines’s self-sufficiency ranges from 100 percent for tomato to seven percent for garlic. For rice we are 85 percent and corn 91 percent sufficient. Other items come in at 26 percent for coffee, 72 percent for onion and 90 percent for both pork and dressed chicken.
We are relatively self-sufficient, but conditions can change almost overnight. Infant formula is in short supply as US retailers begin rationing due to Covid-19-related supply chain problems and a major baby formula recall earlier this year.
Food security is not going to be obtained with government handouts to farmers and fisherfolks and more one-lane roads. Maybe get rid of the 50-year-old Department of Agrarian Reform and form a 2022 Department of Food Security.
E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com. Follow me on Twitter @mangunonmarkets. PSE stock-market information and technical analysis provided by AAA Southeast Equities Inc.