Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas
Reacting to the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) proposal for a faster lane on rice importation, farmers’ group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) is equivalent to the total abandonment of the local rice industry, Filipino rice farmers and rice consumers. “Maling-mali pa rin ang solusyon ng DA na pagpapabilis pa ng importasyon ng bigas,” according to KMP chairperson emeritus and former DAR Secretary Rafael Mariano.
In a briefing on the rice situation before the House Committee on Agriculture, DA officials said “we need to augment our stock with imports these lean months and in preparation for El Nino.” The DA seeks to allow the private sector to bring in 600,000 metric tons of imported rice between now and September 15. The imported rice will be sourced from Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand, India, Pakistan, and other countries. DA also wants to extend EO 10 which reduces the Most Favored Nation tariff rates of rice, meat of swine, and corn until February 2024.
“Ang imported rice na aangkatin mula Agosto hanggang Setyembre ay dadating sa panahon ng anihan sa Oktubre at ang instant na epekto nito ay ang pagbagsak na naman ng presyo ng palay ng mga magsasaka,” according to Danilo Ramos, saying that importation is a vicious cycle that will keep Filipinos in the rut of the neverending rice problem.”
KMP said DA is hell-bent on neoliberal importation policies and neglecting actual farmers’ proposals to protect and strengthen the domestic rice industry.
On the proposal to reverse the rice planting calendar, KMP said DA and the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) should instead work hard to expand domestic irrigated rice lands in the country. According to former DAR Secretary Rafael Mariano: “Baligtad talaga ang isip ng gobyerno. Majority ay rain-fed ang irrigation, paano babaligtarin ang panahon ng pag-aani at pagtatanim? Wala lang talagang maibigay na matinong solusyon ang DA. Ang dapat gawin, palawakin ang irrigated service areas, mas mabilis na idevelop ang irrigated rice lands at paagahin ang release ng irrigation water para mas maaga ang pag-aani. Kailangan din ng maagang prepositioning ng production support sa mga magsasaka – binhi, fertilizers, production subsidy, at iba pa.”
“Dapat ipanawagan ng mga magsasaka ang mas maagang production support sa rain-fed and unirrigated rice land areas, para mas maagang makapagtatanim at makapag ani. Hindi yung pipilitin sila ng DA na baliktarin ang panahon ng pagtanim at pag-ani,” Mariano added. The KMP leader also lambasted the DA for the still undistributed P12 billion rice tariff collection from 2022. Nakabenepisyo sana ang 2.4 milyon magsasaka ng palay kung naipamahagi na ang Rice Farmers Financial Assistance bago pa magsimula ang panahon ng pagtatanim.
KMP said farmers will continue to assert and demand higher agricultural subsidies and the protection and strengthening of the local rice industry to address the domestic food insecurity problem. ###
