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FARMERS’
groups on Tuesday blamed the threat of a rice crisis to
the failure of the Arroyo administration to prioritize
and fully develop the agriculture sector.
Centro
Saka Inc. (CSI) and the National Rice Farmers Council
also said the release of P1.5 billion for the Department
of Agriculture to increase rice production is a case of
“too little, too late.”
“It is
unrealistic to think that we can avert the supply crisis
by simply pumping in more funds at the last minute.
Rather than addressing the root of the problem, [the]
government is opting for a Band-Aid solution,” said
Romeo Royandoyan of CSI.
CSI said
the current crisis is the result of “years of neglect of
agriculture,” including the all-important rice sector.
“After
seven years in power, this administration cannot use the
alibi that it inherited the problem from previous
governments. A lot could have been accomplished in seven
years if, instead of mere lip service, the government
prioritized support for the rice sector with all the
resources at its disposal,” said Royandoyan.
“It is
obvious that the current policies have not produced
tangible results. Why else would we be in the mess we
are in right now?” said Jaime Tadeo, a farmer leader.
“It is
time to reverse these failed policies of the past and
focus future efforts and resources on achieving
self-sufficiency and providing incentives for rice
farmers to keep planting rice.”
CSI
noted that under existing policies, the growth in rice
yield from 3.07 metric tons (MT) a hectare in 2000 to
3.68 MT a hectare in 2006 is hardly significant given
the steady rise in population.
“What
has been more pronounced is the growth in imports from a
little over 700,000 MT in 2001 to an estimated 2.1
million MT this year with the Philippines, moving from
seventh largest rice importer in 1996-2001 to third in
2002-07,” said Royandoyan.
It is
unfortunate, he said, that the Arroyo administration
decided to cling to the “myopic” view that supporting
domestic rice production was expensive and that
importing rice would be a more cost-efficient solution.
“The
real problem is that until very recently, the so-called
experts in this administration advocated a food-security
strategy based on importation. It is this misguided
belief that the international market can guarantee our
food supply that has led us to this crisis,” said
Royandoyan.
Tadeo
said the government should have acted on the “rice
master plan” proposed by small rice farmers which could
have been a comprehensive road map for developing the
local rice industry toward “self-sufficiency.”
As of
press time, the BusinessMirror tried to call DA and NFA
officials, but they could not be reached for comment.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the House Special Committee
on Food Security asked the government on Tuesday to stop
the “regime of disastrous rice importation” and put in
place a program like the Masagana 99 during the time of
the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos, to ensure rice
self-sufficiency and avert the looming rice crisis in
the country.
“Rice
sufficiency, which is the anchor of the country’s
food-security program, cannot be attained by a flawed
policy of importation. We can produce rice at a scale
that is more than enough for our domestic consumption
because the Philippines remains one of the most
efficient rice producers in the world,” said Butil
Party-list Rep. Leonila Chavez.
She
proposed a return to the program structure that the late
Rafael Salas used to make the Green Revolution
successful, which the late Agriculture minister Arturo
Tanco adopted for his Masagana 99 program.
“Within
the short-term, the implementation of a fine-tuned and
reformed Masagana 99 program will lead to rice
sufficiency. This means providing paddy production with
credit, irrigation, hybrid seeds and extension support,”
Chavez said.
The
Masagana 99, which targeted a rice production of 99
sacks of rice hectare, was based on credit, irrigation
and technical support to farmers, as executed under a
supervised food-production program.
Chavez
acknowledged that the program had flaws but it proved
that farmers could produce enough with adequate support.
Bayan
Muna Party-list Rep. Teodoro Casiño, meanwhile, blamed
the government for the looming rice crisis for not
adequately funding the agricultural sector for increased
production of rice and other food crops.
“[The]
government is actually to blame for the declining
agricultural labor productivity due to weak government
policy investments in agricultural infrastructure like
postharvest facilities, showing that this administration
is not keen on attaining food security for our people,”
said Casiño.
He said
that in the first quarter’s 6.9-percent gross domestic
product growth forecast this year, the government
attributed only 0.8 percentage point to agriculture
against 4.9 percentage points to the services sector and
1.7 percentage points to the industry sector.
Makati
Mayor Jejomar Binay, also the United Opposition
president, on Tuesday said Malacañang officials are
“living in a fantasy world” with their refusal to admit
the existence of a rice crisis.
“The
Arroyo administration is once again in denial. It
believes in a fantasy world where rice is plenty, no one
is poor and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo won the 2004
presidential election,” he said in a press release.
The
opposition leader said unless it acknowledges the crisis
and takes concrete steps to mitigate its effects on the
poor, the administration will be in for a rude
awakening.
“When
people take to the streets not for a political event but
to demand rice on their tables, then perhaps the Arroyo
administration will wake up from its daydreaming,” he
said.
Binay
dismissed the provincial visits of Mrs. Arroyo, where
she is photographed showing off vegetables and other
local produce, as another PR gimmick which does not
reflect reality. |
