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The government is paying the price for its alleged
neglect of the Filipino farmer.
The apparent rebuke was made on
Thursday by a lawmaker, a peasant leader and a group of scientists,
who all blamed the administration of President Gloria Arroyo for
allegedly causing the supposedly looming “rice crisis.”
During the weekly Usaping Balita
sa Serye, Rep. Rodolfo Plaza of Agusan del Sur said while the
impending rice crisis could be partly blamed for the increase demand
for the country’s staple food, it is the government’s failure to
provide technical support for the farmers and the failure to utilize
the services of the country’s army of agriculturists that resulted
in a decrease of local rice production.
An agriculture enthusiast who
frequents Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia to observe their
agricultural programs, Plaza told House reporters that the
government needs to provide technical support for the farmers and
give them technological advice and equipment if it is sincere in
developing a rice-production program to make the country
self-sufficient in rice.
With Philippine land area at
present devoted to agriculture, he said, the country could easily
double its rice production and increase hiring of agriculturists and
redistribute them to agricultural areas.
The peasant leader, Jaime Tadeo,
another speaker during the forum, said the looming rice crisis is
largely brought about by the government’s program on food security
that is “based on importation.”
Tadeo noted that the government
has allocated P2.5 billion for domestic production and P10 billion
to P14 billion for importation.
“Now, we are trying to import
rice from Vietnam at a cost of $700 per metric ton,which is way
above the normal price of $500 per metric ton. Why offer such
amount?” he asked.
The scientists from AGHAM (Samahan
ng Nagtataguyod ng Agham at Teknolohiya para sa Sambayanan, or
Advocates of Science and Technology for the People) faulted
President Arroyo herself for the impending rice crisis. They cited
the President’s alleged limited support for small rice farmers
that would have ensured rice sufficiency and improved local
production toward lessening imports.
“The current crisis is a result
of (Mrs. Arroyo’s) policies that prefer imports in addressing
domestic-supply shortages and the government’s total withdrawal
from developing the rice industry,” said Feny Cosico, an
agriculturist and the convenor of the group’s chapter in the
National Food Authority.
“Prices should be maintained at
reasonable levels for consumers. The National Food Authority
previously set this at around P18 pesos per kilogram. It should not
be allowed to deviate from this,” Cosico added in a statement.
She noted that the country has
been importing an average of 800,000 metric tons of rice since 1996.
“This dependence on rice imports makes us vulnerable to world
market price and supply fluctuations,” Cosico said.
She underlined the problem of
education among the farmers and the limited use of technology in
farmlands.
“Less than 1 percent of farmers
use tractors and power tillers. Only five bags of fertilizer from
the recommended eight per hectare are being used. Only 15-20 percent
of total harvests, 65 percent at post-harvest level, are recovered
due to lack of mechanization. This results in a low productivity of
around 3.5 metric tons per hectare, making us one of the lowest
(producers) in Southeast Asia,” Cosico explained.
According to her, the lack of
support is worsened by the existence of a “rice cartel and
unscrupulous traders and government officials who manipulate stocks
and prices, as well as scandals, such as P729-million fertilizer
fund scam of Joc-Joc Bolante.” Cosico was referring to former
Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante, who allegedly misused
the fund.
“Unless the Arroyo government
reverses its liberalization policies, and implement steps to achieve
genuine food security and self-sufficiency, the rice crisis, and
government’s complicity in it, may yet prove to be Mrs. Arroyo’s
undoing,” Cosico warned.
--Sammy Martin And
James Konstantin Galvez
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