We Need More Prosperity Journalists! Pushing Farmers Up Maslow’s 2nd Level Hierarchy Of Needs

Farmers are humans, aren’t they? They have to meet a hierarchy of needs, as according to American psychologist Abraham Maslow, just like we do. Above, PH Secretary of Agriculture William Dar is speaking for farmers as he should. On his 4thday as Secretary, Mr Dar (image from Food Evolution[1]) cited the “Family Income and Expenditure Survey,” which said that a typical Filipino farmer earned an average of only P100,000 per year, just over P8,300 a month, or had less than P300 daily available for expenses[2] for his family (08 August 2019, Ralph Rivas, Rappler). That is poor!

“Dar also admitted that prosperity is ‘non-existent’ in almost all agricultural households.”

So I say that a poor Filipino farmer family is not safe from want, not secure in meeting those physiological needs – the only resort is borrow usury money.

From the Maslow image (The School Of Life[3]), the 4 levels of human needs are:
4th, Esteem (respect)
3rd, Belongingness & Love (friends, lovers)
2nd, Safety (security, protection)
1st, Physiological (food, water, warmth, rest)

As the son of a farmer, an Agriculturist with a BSA from UP Los Baños, a very wide print and digital reader, a self-taught digital worker with words & ideas since 1985, and a blogger since 2005, in my mind and in my heart I know that the millions of PH farmers have reached only the 1st Level and have not breached the 2nd Level – our farmers do not yet feel secure and protected with their income and status in life.

Why have we been neglecting our farmers in the sense of Maslow? When will PH farmers breach the 1st Level and go up the 2nd?

To be prosperous, the farmer must be able to meet his (and family’s) Safety Needs.

It’s the income. The farmer’s income is enough only to meet the Physiological Needs but not the Safety Needs. So, how many Filipinos can you say are prosperous farmers right now? <1%.

We have not been intervening between farmers and usurers, and between farmers and merchants who take advantage of sellers all the time!

When one farmer prospers, he is lucky.

Social prosperity must be the goal of the journalist, not to mention of the government. 

I am now calling for more journalists pushing for farmer prosperity, journalists writing to help farmers pursue their needs for Prosperity (2nd Level).

Being pursuers of farmer prosperity is not being consciously done by current aggie journalists – they simply report the news they hear or read, and hardly think to do more.

Yes, the reporting job is done, but the prosperity work is not there – I believe that is because aggie journalists do not think it is their duty to help farmers achieve the 2ndLevel of Needs in Maslow’s Hierarchy. I must blame the old & new schools of journalism & communication for this – they don’t teach Maslow!

If aggie journalists are not for the prosperity of farmers,
who are?
If not us, who?
If not now, when?!@517

 


[1]https://foodevolution.com.ph/2020/02/sure-loans-disbursed-to-farmers-reached-p2-25b/william-dar-14/
[2]https://rappler.com/business/william-dar-aims-agriculture-growth-double-income-farmers
[3]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0PKWTta7lU


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