Palliative measure

Filipinos can somehow heave a sigh of relief that both Vietnam and Thailand have agreed to match or go slightly below the $426/metric ton ceiling price set by the National Food Authority (NFA) for 750,000 metric tons of rice which the Philippines is importing on a staggered basis.

The importations, which would serve as buffer stock for the last quarter of the year and for 2015 with the anticipated drought caused by the El Niño phenomenon, serve as a mocking reminder of Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala’s empty boast that the Philippines would achieve rice sufficiency under this outgoing administration.

The World Bank has said there’s no reason why the Philippines could not fully produce 100 percent of its rice needs considering that it’s been years ahead of countries like Vietnam and Thailand in research and development.

We agree with this statement because many Vietnamese and Thai rice producers trained and gained their expertise in increasing rice yield per hectare at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) at the UP Los Baños campus in Laguna during the Marcos years.

What we disagree with is the WB suggestion that the Philippine government should lift the volume restriction on imported rice during the interim that Filipino farmers, with the help of Alcala’s department, try to increase the yield of their farms with the hope of realizing that elusive Philippine dream of achieving rice sufficiency.

Opening the floodgates of untrammeled rice importation would actually kill the Philippine rice sector because Filipino farmers could not possibly match the price of imported rice produced cheaply through mechanized farming and heavy government subsidies. Lifting rice importation limits would drive farmers to turn to planting other crops or, worse, selling off their lands to subdivision developers.

Herein lies the problem really. Many rice lands have already been bulldozed and paved and converted into residential communities. The next administration should seriously consider a moratorium on the conversion of our agricultural lands to mixed-use properties.  Rice importation is a palliative solution to a long-festering problem. Filipino farmers need government support and need it now. The DA under Alcala is simply not responsive to our farmers’ needs. 

Image by: Riceland Agro Food Ltd.