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Cordillera farmers earn nothing

Despite overproduction of palay

BAGUIO CITY (Oct. 13) — The Alliance of Peasants in the Cordillera Homeland (Apit Tako) agreed with the Bureau of Agriculture Statistics (BAS) that there was an overproduction of palay (unhusked rice) in 2004, but stressed that farmers remain at the losing end.

Juanito Yabes of BAS exposed during the October 5 Kapihan that the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) produced a total of 355,775 metric tons of palay in 2004, or 108% rice sufficiency. However, he said harvest was not absorbed in the region’s market.

Apit Tako’s Fernando Bagyan said in an interview that surely, the local farmers can produce more than enough for the region but the influx of imported rice in the market killed the local produce. He added that the BAS data only reflected the commercial harvest and failed to reflect the produce of the interiors of the region.

Bagyan further said imported rice is far cheaper at P16.00 a kilo, while the Kalinga rice sells at P24.00 a kilo. Bagyan added that the local produce is expensive because unlike foreign competitors the agriculture industry here lack government subsidy. He reiterated that this is an effect of the country’s membership to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

“Consumers will definitely buy the cheaper rice. The farmers gained nothing from their hard labor because the market was flooded with imported rice,” he added.

Prices of farm inputs drastically increased, while increase in the selling price of palay was minimal. He also mentioned that the irrigation fee of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) increased.

BAS data showed that in February this year a sack of urea ranged from P820 to P870. By July, it already cost P920 to P950 a sack. The same data showed that palay in February cost P9 to P9.30. At present, it costs only P10 a kilo.

“How can farmers earn when farm inputs prices increase by the hundreds, while the selling price of palay increase by the centavo not to mention the invasion of imported products,” he lamented.

The National Food Authority (NFA) revealed during the same weekly Kapihan that CAR has 402,000 sacks share from the national rice import for this year and was able to distribute over 200,000 sacks already.

“It could have been a great help for the farmers if the money spent to buy imported rice was used to subsidize the rice industry. The mandate of NFA is to buy 25% of the local rice produce but in reality it buys less than 1%,” Bagyan said.

Bagyan also disclosed that Kalinga is one of the beneficiaries of the Arroyo administration’s Ginintuang Masaganang Ani Project. Its main role is to produce F1 seedlings (a variety of palay) more popularly known as GMA rice. He said that part of the agreement in the said project was for the Department of Agriculture (DA) to buy the F1 seedlings. Unfortunately, the DA miscalculated the distribution of the project, which caused overproduction.

“Kalinga farmers are now having a hard time selling the said seedlings because it exceeded the DA quota. The DA even failed to pay the farmers who are within the quota,” Bagyan said.

Moreover, he said the F1 is not a good palay variety because it is very expensive and not sustainable. This kind of palay does not reproduce, and needs more fertilizers compared with other varieties Bagyan said. Once it yields, it dies; which means the farmer will have to spend again for new seedlings every planting season. # Kim Quitasol for NORDIS

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