IT is back to scratch for 203 padi farmers in three villages in Pokok Sena, 30km from Alor Star, after rats destroyed their crop, which was almost ready for harvest.

The farmers in Jabi, Kampung Banggol Chengal and Bendang Perang lost RM160,000 to the rodents after they feasted on the maturing stalks in 77ha of padi fields, the equivalent of about 100 football fields.

Going by the average of five tonnes of padi yield per hectare, the unrealised yield from the padi fields was about 385 tonnes, or 385,000kg, which could have fed tens of thousands of people.

What happened?

The farmers blamed a sudden explosion in rat population in their fields for their woes.

Strangely, it affected only the padi fields in the three villages.

Why was the devastation confined to just the three villages? Fortunately, too, there was no outbreak of diseases.

A closer check on the farmers' woes revealed that they had poorly managed their crops and fields.

And Deputy Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister Datuk Mohd Johari Baharum did not mince his words when he rapped the farmers for their aberrant behaviour.

"Janganlah tanam, tunggu dan tuai saja" (Don't just plant, wait and harvest), were his exact words to the farmers, who kept their heads down when he gave them his two cents worth.

Johari also took the agriculture officers in charge of the villages to task. He said they should have been vigilant about the crops, and the farmers, too, especially when the harvesting season began.

Fortunately, the rat attack, and padi farmers' menace, was confined to only a few of Kedah's farmers.

But why did they let it happen?

Was it a case of complacency on the part of the farmers and agriculture officers?

Was it also a case of taking things for granted that is prevalent in some pockets of society? That if something goes wrong, the government will always be there to help them.

One does not need to be a rocket scientist or a behavioural scientist to figure out the answers.

Similar problems are common in other sectors of the economy, too.

In the past, there was rampant smuggling of fuel, especially diesel, to Thailand.

Individuals, as well as some petrol kiosk owners, have been taken to task for their actions, which have been described as an act of betrayal to the nation by some quarters.

Some fishermen, too, are to be blamed. They take the easy way out of selling the subsidised diesel to third parties, instead of going to sea and helping to feed the nation.

Smuggling of food items into Thailand, too, was rampant at one time.

Occasionally, one could find packets of Gula Prai in many sundry shops in Danok, just across the Malaysia-Thai border near Bukit Kayu Hitam.

And the abuses were not just confined to adults.

Some students in local universities were caught selling their RM200 book vouchers, issued as one of the initiatives by the government to lessen the burden of the people, for a fast buck.

Why is all this happening?

We have to take charge of our lives, be responsible for our actions and own up if we have made mistakes.

More importantly, we must learn from others, and from our own mistakes and shortcomings.

Back to the farmers in Pokok Sena, and as a lesson for the rest of us, too.

Let's not waste what we have because we think we will still have it in the future and will never run out of it.