In February of 1972, new figures were released from the National Food and Agriculture Council about the situation in the Philippines. They showed that a deadly plant virus called tungro had blighted some 140,000 acres of riceland in Luzon and in Mindanao. President Ferdinand Marcos told the Philippine Congress: “It was a disastrous year [1971] for Philippine agriculture.”

Because of the new high-yield rices planted after 1966 the Philippines had experienced self-sufficiency and a small surplus up to 1970. But last year, 1971, huge imports became necessary​—460,000 metric tons of rice. And the government predicts that the country faces a vast shortage of nearly 640,000 metric tons in 1972 and about the same in 1973.

And rice needs even more water than wheat.

Irrigation is not the same as rainfall. The new varieties cannot depend upon uncertain rainfall. They require regular irrigation. So an assured supply of water is a necessity. This irrigation water could come from river systems by means of canals. But in poorer lands, these often have not been built. In most cases pumps are required to bring groundwater to the surface.