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By Nora O. Gamolo, Senior Desk Editor
The state-run National Food Authority (NFA) has
lately been given prominence that it hasn’t enjoyed since the
1970s when it was the supreme agency to regulate many aspects of the
rice business in the country.
Despite knowing its checkered past, activist
farmers’ groups have called for the increase in NFA’s palay (unmilled
rice) procurement from its “dismal” 5-year average of 0.05
percent of the total production to 25 percent to “effectively
influence the market” as this will directly benefit local farmers,
and help NFA address the issue of hoarding by rice cartels.
According to Rafael “Ka Paeng” Mariano,
chairman of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas and concurrent
president of the Anakpawis party list, “It would be better for the
the NFA to intensify its procurement of local palay, rather than
import more rice from abroad to address the rice crisis.”
The NFA is tasked to acquire 10 percent of the
country’s total rice yield, but in practice it only procures less
than 1 percent of the country’s rice production, lamented Mariano.
In 2006, NFA procured just 73,078 metric tons
(MT) from local farmers, or less than 1 percent of total production
of 10 million MT. In contrast, the government contracted 1.6 million
MT of imported rice from Thailand, Vietnam and Pakistan.
This year, the Arroyo government plans to import
2.2 million MT of rice, and has already signed an agreement with
Vietnam to supply it with 1.5 million MT spread out over three
years. Other imports will come from the United States.
Activists refuse to accept the scenario that NFA
will spend more for rice imports, rather than use government money
to raise farm support prices for Filipino farmers.
Activists are elated, though, that farm support
price has already been increased from P12 to P17, saying that the
test is now in terms of increasing the actual volume of rice
procured from the small farmers.
“Increased NFA procurement would prevent rice
traders and cartels from taking advantage of local farmers, and
increase farmers’ incomes,” said Mariano.
The KMP has lately prescribed that the
immediate, short-term solution to the current rice crisis is to
increase NFA’s local rice procurement to at least 25 percent of
the total rice yield of the country, particularly pointing out that
May marks the start of the first harvest of palay this year in many
regions.
According to Mariano, “by increasing the local
procurement of rice, we can always ensure our supply and the fruit
of our farmers’ labor will not just go to the rice cartel. It will
all make our country more self-sufficient in terms of food security
and will make us immune to perennial rice crisis. This will also
safeguard other funds for farmers like the coco levy funds not to be
touched by the greedy bunch in Malacañang.”
Farm support prices will boost the country’s
food security, said Mariano, making his rough calculations.
“The Department of Agriculture projected
palay yield for this cropping season which is 7.2 million metric
tons [MMT] and we can multiply it by our proposed 25 percent palay
procurement. Assuming that NFA will get 1.8 MMT of palay, we will
then multiply 1.8 MMT to the milling recovery rate of palay to rice
of 65 percent, and then we will get 1.1 MMT of rice. If we divide
this by the Philippines’ daily rice consumption of 33,000 MT, then
we will get 35.45 days. This is more than the 30 day buffer stock
that the NFA should have before July 2008,” said Mariano.
Raising the NFA farm support price, or at the
very least, buying more volume from Filipino farmers will also raise
farmers’ incomes.
“Given that one sack of palay/rice is 50
kilograms and you are buying 20 sacks of palay/rice equivalent to
1,000 kgs. The average price of NFA procurement of palay is
P11.50/kg and a sack of palay is P575. The 1.8 MMT of palay
multiplied by 20 sacks would give us 36 million sacks. Multiply this
volume to P575/sack, and you have P20.07 billion as the needed
budget for the local palay procurement. Apply the same formula to
the 1.1 MMT of rice to be derived from the palay and at P18.25 /kg
NFA price of rice, then we will get P912.5 as the price of a sack of
rice. If we are getting 22 million sacks and if we multiply these
last two figures, then we will get P20.075 billion as the needed
budget for rice procurement,” added the peasant leader.
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