It’s been a long time ago when the Philippines once the envy of its Asian neighbors that the country opened the doors to foreign students most especially from the ASEAN. Students from Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam and to name a few started flocking to the country to pursue a college diploma in the different field of studies. According to the old journals made available to the new generation of students in State Colleges and Universities, students from Thailand made the majority of foreign students who took up course in Agriculture. Thailand then is a poor country. Their educational institutions were poorly staffed and had limited resources. But after decades of being a laggard, Thailand gradually improved its economy. Their agriculture became one of the best in the Asian region. Their best students who acquired agricultural knowledge in the Philippines helped Thailand to fully develop their potentials. Thailand is now one of the top three rice producing country in the world. Vietnam is likewise belongs to the top three which has been exporting rice for decades. Unfortunately, the Philippines do not even belong to the top ten; it is now second to the last. It is ridiculous to say that the International Rice Research Institute had been in the Philippines for how many decades. And yet the Philippines retrogressed deep into the agricultural ignominy. The country is now importing rice from Thailand and Vietnam in regular basis. How sad that the Philippines was once the best in the ASEAN region.
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