Kiko bats for massive sale of NFA rice, support to farmers
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan on Friday said government should expand the sale of cheap rice all over the country following an official’s admission that 4 million bags of imported rice remain in warehouses of the National Food Authority (NFA).
READ: 4 million bags of imported rice still at NFA warehouses–administrator
Pangilinan said government should lead the massive sale of cheap rice while local government units and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) should buy NFA rice and distribute such to poor families or sell them at a lower price.
READ: DA chief bats for 90-day rice buffer stock
The unloading of the NFA stocks, the senator explained, would replenish the country’s buffer stock and allow the government to buy local rice, the price of which farmers lament to be continuously plummeting.
READ: Falling palay prices worry Luzon farmers
“Emergency food situation tayo ngayon: ang ating magpapalay hirap sa murang presyo ng kanilang ani, ang mga consumers hirap din sa mahal na presyo ng kanilang pagkain. Kailangan nasa emergency mode din ang ating gobyerno (We are in an emergency situation: our rice farmers are suffering due to low prices of their harvest, consumers are suffering due to high prices of their food. Our government should also be in emergency mode),” the former secretary on food security said in a statement.
During Wednesday’s hearing of the Senate committee on agriculture and food, NFA Administrator Judy Dansal revealed that 4 million bags of rice equivalent to about 290,000 metric tons (MT) are currently stored in NFA warehouses. She said the government has also imported 1.2 million MT of rice this year, with 290,000 MT remaining unsold.
Meanwhile, farmers have raised concerns on decreasing palay prices, with traders buying for only P7 to P10 a kilo from the usual P21 per kilo. The Philippine Statistics Authority had confirmed the fall in the average farm-gate prices of palay, reporting a drop from P22.28 to P17.62 per kilo during the same period last year.
“Pakinggan at tulungan natin ang mga magsasaka. Unang-una, hindi tamang gutom ang nagpapakain sa atin. Pangalawa, pag gutom ang mga nagpapakain sa atin, magugutom din tayo (Let’s listen to our farmers and help them. First of all, it is wrong that those who feed us go hungry. Second, when those who feed us go hungry, we will also go hungry),” Pangilinan said.
The Rice Tarrification Law has been blamed for the influx of imported rice in the country which triggers local rice prices to plummet. The Senate inquiry into the law’s impact started this week and will resume Sept. 3, while the probe in the House is expected to start next.
Republic Act No. 11203 signed February this year replaces quantitative restrictions on imported rice with tariffs or taxes. /muf
READ: Probe sought as tariff law hurts rice farmers
