Happy New Year!
For those who still use paper calendars, the old ones must’ve already been discarded and replaced by 2024 versions by now and since we are already five days into the new year, it is probably safe to assume that a good number of those who made new year resolutions could’ve broken them by now.
It’s the time of year writers with deadlines like me automatically turn to new year’s resolutions, but just like the recently concluded Christmas season that didn’t really feel like it, maybe for this year I’ll try to avoid making such resolutions and just focus on what we have to face in 2024 and beyond.
If you come to think of it, among our biggest concerns at the start of the year would be, in no particular order: El Niño’s heat, inflation/shrinkflation, climate change mitigation, sugar prices, and the wars that have been breaking out in various parts of the world.
2024 has just started but doesn’t it feel like it’s already peak summer? The cool December breeze never made itself felt, even during the wee hours of dawn when we used to want to turn off the electric fan or use our toes to pull up a blanket because of that rare chill. I don’t know if it’s El Niño in action, but this early, it certainly feels like all the warnings that this is going to be a hot year are right.
I don’t think the people of Negros will have the same water problems as those in Metro Manila, but even then, we will have to brace our homes and ourselves for the heat and all the issues that come with it. Conserving water will still be a priority, while farmers will have to make the necessary adjustments to deal with the heat. For homeowners, air conditioners are going to get extra usage, so it would be best to brace ourselves for a bigger electric bill, while at the same time preparing for it by getting those aircon units cleaned and maintained.
On the economic end, we can only hope that the devastating combo of inflation and shrinkflation will finally subside and allow us to stretch our incomes to match our living expenses. Everything has become wildly expensive over the past couple of years, and while the minimum wage has been adjusted upward, life certainly feels more difficult these days.
As we wait and hope for government policies to bite in its attempt to lower inflation, the belt tightening of the ever-resilient Filipino will have to continue if we want to continue surviving. Maybe after a couple of months, inflation will finally be controlled, but the bad news for all of us is that while it may be slowed down, the cost of living is not going to go back to the way it used to. While it would be nice to wish for prices falling back to more comfortable levels, the harsh reality is that this is the new normal and we are simply just going to have to adjust to it.
As for climate change and its increasingly disastrous effects, we will simply have to do better. With every passing year, we march closer to the future that scientists are dreading because humanity doesn’t do enough. Perhaps this is the year that we can finally get our global act together, but if it isn’t, then our kids who will inherit this planet can only hope we are still moving in more or less the right direction. There is so much we can do to reduce the impact of our being human on the planet, and if all of us pitched in, we could actually make a difference. Isn’t it about time we stopped expecting others to do all the work we don’t want to do?
On the local front, there is the problem of low sugar prices that are putting the fate of the industry and its stakeholders at the risk of financial peril. Again, there seems to be nothing the most affected can do at this point but complain and beg for action from the national government officials they put in charge. Because even if Filipino farmers can make the land they till as productive and efficient as they can, if they have a government that won’t help them compete against cheaper subsidized sugar from other countries, or get stuck with one that prioritizes imports over local production, then maybe it is time for the sugar industry to strongly reconsider its future, or get leaders who pay more than just lip service. Either way, it looks like 2024 is going to be a critical year for the industry, and as someone who lives on an island where the success of the sugar industry determines the fate of millions, hopefully we can survive this.
But if we somehow get our national government to step in and help our industry, maybe we should still consider playing the long game and seriously weigh our options beyond sugar. After all, if you come to think of it, isn’t dependence on refined sugar one of the worst enemies of human health? So even if government doesn’t fail us, we still have to be prepared for a world that can suddenly turn against refined sugar.*
