A LADY lawmaker is urging the administration’s economic managers to prepare for various scenarios to aid Filipino farmers with the lifting of the quantitative restriction on rice in 2017.
Occidental Mindoro Rep. Josephine a Ramirez-Sato issued the call while expressing reservation over the lifting of the non-tariff barrier on rice, saying imported rice flooding the market would “kill” local farmers producing the staple food.
Sato, former governor of Occidental Mindoro, said the government should put in place necessary measures as “safety net” for farmers, particularly those with small landholdings, either in the form of more seed and fertilizer subsidies; or training to improve production, packaging of rice products, and access to emerging market chains.
“These programs would boost local rice production and allow farmers to compete against cheaper, imported rice, which consumers would surely prefer to buy compared to locally produced rice,” Sato said.
She noted the lifting of the rice QR would allow rice importers to bring in more high quality rice that would reduce the price of the staple food in the local market.
“While consumers would generally benefit from this scenario, rice farmers would not be able to compete against imported rice because of the high cost of production,” Sato stressed.
Destruction caused by flood and typhoons, she added, aggravates the situation of small farmers with limited capital.
Sato is worried the lifting of the QR on rice would force farmers to shift to planting other crops, or worse, give up farming.
“The unrestricted or unregulated importation of rice would not only affect farmers, but would also slow down agricultural production, affecting the country’s economic growth,” she said.
Citing 2009 Crop production Statistics report of the Food and Agriculture office of the United Nations, Sato noted: “While the Philippines is a net importer of rice, it is also the 8th largest rice producer in the world, accounting for 2.8 percent of global rice production.”
“By now, the Department of Agriculture should have a plan; put more safety nets that would shield our farmers from this looming crisis,” she said.
Sato suggested the DA should come up with ways to make the business of rice farming more profitable.