Philippine Agriculture: Lessons from Ancient Athens

Juan Apolinario C. Reyes

Our vulnerability to typhoons and the discouraging conditions that surround our agriculture both in terms of natural resources and state policies should remind us about a crucial episode in ancient Greek history. It is the Peloponnesian wars.

The Peloponnesian War was a war between two major alliances in Greece around 470- 404 BC. One was led by Athens, the other by Sparta. One famous person came out from this war. He was Pericles. Orator, statesman, and eventually a general of Athens. He led the war against Sparta. It was in his period that Athens achieved her full flowering. The iconic Parthenon, for example, was Pericles' pet project.

The Athenians, through the persuasion of Pericles, agreed to abandon agriculture because to pursue it was attended by so much risk. Between the months of May and August, the harvesting season, the Spartans would march to Athens to compel the Athenian army to meet them in an open battle. But Pericles' strategy was to starve the Spartans of battles. He persuaded the people of Athens to retreat behind the walls of Piraeus, which they did. This strategy, however, left their wheat farms at the mercy of the Spartans.

Unable to get the fight, the Spartans vented their frustration on vast tracts of wheat fields. They burnt them to ashes. This spectacle happened yearly. Each year the Spartans marched to Athens. Each year, the Athenians retreated behind their walls. Each year, the Spartans were denied battle. And each year, the humble plants outside Piraeus suffered the wrath of the mighty Spartans.

Pericles persuaded the people of Athens to abandon agriculture because to have food didn't mean they had to plant them themselves. Through their naval fleet, they simply bought wheat from their allies. And true enough, they achieved food security not by protecting agriculture but by pursuing trade and commerce. It was during the days of Pericles that Athens achieved its Golden Age.

Ancient Athens left us with a lesson about the production of staple crops such as wheat or, in our case, rice. It is prudent to buy them from other countries when producing them locally is too costly.




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