"If the trend persists, we might as well see our rice industry dying a natural death."
"If the trend persists, we might as well see our rice industry dying a natural death."
The President has ordered the suspension of rice importation, in line with the continuing losses suffered by many of our local farmers. These losses were brought about by the decreasing prices of palay, reaching as low as P10 per kilo in some areas according to reports.
On average, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported that farmgate prices dropped to P15.43 per kilogram last month, that is, 24.2 percent lower than that of same period in 2018. Correspondingly, the volume of production of palay from July to September 2019 also went down to 3.05 million metric tons, 4.7 percent significantly lower than that in 2018. The PSA also released its report on the costs and returns for selected commodities for 2018. Palay production costs per hectare reached up to P47,675 in 2018. Gross returns per hectare were estimated at P81,024. However, net returns per hectare were only at P33,349 average for both irrigated and non-irrigated land.
The numbers above reflect the hardship experienced by our local palay farmers. While we welcome the suspension order from the President, this is merely a band-aid solution to a deeply-entrenched problem in our agricultural sector. As I have said in my previous articles, our agricultural industry suffers from the lack of natural irrigation and modernized farming techniques and equipment which leads to higher production costs. We are also prone to typhoons which flood our rice fields. These unfortunate circumstances lead to a domino effect of high market prices of produce suffered by the consuming population and, consequently, food crisis.
The Rice Tariffication Law intends to reduce market prices by easing restrictions on rice importation, thereby allowing the influx of imported rice in the market to augment the thinning supply of local rice. Based on the October 2019 Philippine Statistics Authority Inventory, total rice stocks are at 2.279 million metric tons, higher by 43.4 percent than last year. While rice importation helped fulfill rice demands in the country, the net effect still puts our local farmers at a disadvantage. We cannot be oblivious to the fact that many of our rice farmers are suffering due to the continuous decrease in the prices of rice and market saturation of imported rice. If such a trend persists, time will come when our local rice industry will die a natural death.
So, where do we go from here? With the suspension of rice importation, the government needs to provide urgent support to our local farmers whom we will rely on for our rice supply in the coming months. However, if this administration decides to continue with the importation of rice after the harvest season, adequate and effective safeguards must be established.
Aside from the threats imposed on our local rice production, liberalization of rice importation also poses a risk to consumers. To attain food security, we should not only concern ourselves with the numbers but also the quality of the products imported and sold in local markets. This may be done through strict enforcement of regulatory mechanisms that will also serve as effective quality control measures. We cannot disregard the possibility that rice importers would take advantage of this situation and over-ship or undervalue imported products. We cannot let this supplemental system established by the Rice Tariffication Law be rigged by corrupt practices which thwart our economic growth.
Hence, I repeat my call to the government, particularly to the agencies concerned with rice production and distribution, to strike a balance between importation and local production. While we aim to address food crisis and achieve food security by seeking external help, let us not forget to provide the necessary support to our local agricultural industry and make it sustainable in the long run. Let us move forward with more inclusive, efficient, and sustainable measures that will increase economic opportunities for our local farmers. I reiterate my call for the study and eventual utilization of modern farming techniques and equipment. Moreover, let us examine other alternative crops for planting that will expand the livelihood of our farmers.
As we near the Christmas season, a meaningful celebration should recognize the difficult situation of our farmers, and a work toward a firm resolve to improve their conditions.