The number of Filipino farmers who could lose their livelihood due to the ongoing El Niño episode could exceed a million, according to a labor expert from the University of the Philippines (UP).
Dr. Rene E. Ofreneo, former dean of the UP School of Labor and Industrial Relations (Solair), said the possibility that more than a million farm workers could be displaced by the drought is not remote.
“El Niño is happening all over the country, so the level of displacement and the gravity of the problem is so serious and comprehensive,” Ofreneo told the BusinessMirror in a phone interview.
Citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, Economic Planning Secretary Emmanuel F. Esguerra said the agriculture sector has recorded a net employment loss of 935,000 in January 2016. The government attributed this to weak farm output due to El Niño, which peaked in December 2015.
In October last year the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines had projected that the number of farmworkers who could be displaced by El Niño could reach 1 million.
El Niño, which started to affect the country in February last year, is expected to last until the second quarter of 2016. It is expected to weaken in the coming months, but the United Nations weather agency earlier warned that its impacts could last for many more months to come.
“Despite this, how come government preparation was weak and negligible?” Ofreneo asked.
IPs go hungry
Data from the Department of Agriculture (DA) showed that Regions 10 and 12 in Mindanao bore the brunt of El Niño. Farmers in Region 12 have already incurred losses amounting to P2.46 billion, while those in Region 10 lost P737.36 million.
Because of the drought, Dr. Domingo M. Non of the Mindanao State University (MSU) said farmers and members of indigenous peoples (IPs) groups are going hungry as they can no longer rely on agriculture.
“These people do not have anything to eat. They also have to sacrifice everything else. One story I’ve heard from a student is that her aunt does not take her medicine. They don’t even have the capacity to buy food,” Non said.
In General Santos, South Cotabato, he said the lack of rain and irrigation, and pest infestation have made it impossible for farmers to plant any crop.
In particular, Non said the T’boli and B’laan tribes have resorted to other means just to survive.
“They have altered their routine activities. Some of them have to go down from the mountains, to beg, or they offer to work for people who can provide them food,” he added.
Non-governmental organizations have been giving aid, such as food assistance, to affected farmers, while agribusinesses have offered to hire them to work in their plantations.
Riza Ming, a 31-year-old T’boli teacher in Barangay Maan, in the municipality of T’boli in General Santos, said the IPs resort to cutting small trees and turning them into charcoal to sell.
The little they get from the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program also helps tide them over, according to Ming.
The serious deprivation suffered by farmers and IPs left them with no alternative but to march in a protest rally in Kidapawan City to pressure the local government to give them rice. Two protesters died, while dozens were injured after they were violently dispersed by policemen. (Farmers suffer El Niño’s wrath).
Ming called on the government to provide IPs with food subsidy, as they can no longer grow crops on their own.
For his part, Ofreneo urged the government to stop dismissing the adverse impact of El Niño on the country’s farm sector.
“They should accept reality and admit the gravity of the situation. This is a crisis of unprecedented proportion and the problem with this crisis is, it’s happening gradually but so pervasively,” he said.
He said the government should provide direct and immediate assistance, such as food and medical aid, to the displaced farmers to help them survive.
“They should also modify the cash-transfer scheme to accommodate those who will be displaced. At the same time, there should be an alternative livelihood program,” Ofreneo said.
Long-term programs—agrarian, housing and coastal reforms and empowerment programs—should also accompany these efforts, he said.
3 comments
WE DONT THINK na nasa level na ng “USA for AFRICA” and “DO THEY KNOW is CHRISTMAS TIME at ALL (bob geldof)” ang PILIPINAS ?
“farm workers could be displaced by the drought is not remote…” Ang FARM WORKERS ay walang pag-aaring lupang sakahan, nagtatrabaho o manggagawang bukid sa RURAL areas.. mga WAGE EARNER at BOTANTENG PILIPINO.. or are they AGITATED and controlled by the OUTSIDE GROUP, WAGING a PROTRACTED WAR (rebellion and insurrecion) AGAINST the GOVERNMENT..
HOW ABOUT the FARM OWNERS, nagmamay-ari ng 1/2 to 10 hectares (half hectares – 10 hectares) of farm lands in the country, located in Ilocos-Cagayan province in the NORTH, CL, ST BICOL, Visayas, Davao in the south..na hindi apektado, bagkus, nakikinabang, umuunlad at kumikita sa ilalim ng Government Agri program at Foreign Assisted NGOs in the country… .
Ang alam ng marami, ang mga FARM OWNERS (not farm workers) ay nag-eengaged at nagpa-participate sa government RURAL DEVELOPMENT effort, nagbebenefits sa mga program ng (P200.00 billions) DA, DAR, DENR, at local / International Rural Developments NGOs in MINDANAO and in the Visayas regions..
We should not let it get to that ‘USA forAFRICA” level, the El Nino and other effects of climate change are there, so there should be concrete actions, not just press releases on the part of the government
PROPAGANDA WAR, MANIPULATION sa Media at 2016 election ang duda ng mga tao sa isyu ng “EL NINO at isyu ng “FEEDING ONE MILLION PEOPLE….” Parang pinalalabas na SOMALIA at ETHIOPIA na ang PILIPINAS?
Ang totoo, NAGSISIMULA ng UMULAN sa EASTERN SECTION ng PILIPINAS, everyday UMUULAN na sa AURORA, ISABELA, QUEZON at BICOL REGIONS….at RICE HARVEST season na ang Central Luzon..
Maayos ang panahon…walang bagyo at delubyo….marami ang nagha-harvest at TULOY-TULOY ang BUMPER RICE / CORN HARVESTING sa maraming lugar sa LUZON, CAGAYAN VALLEY at EASTERN MINDANAO REGIONS..tinatayang nasa RECORD BREAKING ang rice / corn output ng bansa…
Ang tanong ng marami…sino ang NAGSASABI ng TAMA at sino ang nagdi-DIS-INFORMATION CAMPAIGN sa isyu?