N. Ecija harvest good, but prices unattractive

STA. ROSA, Nueva Ecija—Rice farmers in the province have produced so much palay this month, despite the dry spell, but low prices prevent them from profiting from their bounty.

Farmers here have harvested an average of 200 cavans of palay a hectare.

But the prevailing buying price for palay is P13 a kilo, which leaves them with no income because they spend the same amount for production, said Dr. Calixto Protacio, executive director of the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice).

The National Food Authority should intensify its rice procurement drive and buy rice at P17 a kilo, said Henry Lim Bon Liong, chair and chief executive officer of hybrid seed producer, SL Agritech.

He said warehouses were overflowing with palay stocks but farmers would benefit only when these were sold at good prices in the market.

In Davao provinces, he said, the prevailing market price for palay is P20 a kilo.

Dr. Eva Fernando, a hybrid rice expert from the Department of Agriculture office in Central Luzon, said the high yield made up for the devastation brought by Typhoons “Lando” and “Nona” that hit the province last year.

Water from rain dumped by the two typhoons was used to irrigate farms during the dry spell.

Danilo Bolos, a farmer, said the government should offer subsidies if prices would not improve.

Protacio said the cost of producing rice in the Philippines is high compared with those of Vietnam and Thailand, which are P6.50 and P9 a kilo, respectively. These Asian countries export rice to the Philippines.

The PhilRice introduced the “Palayabangan (boasting rights) Challenge” to encourage farmers to increase their yield to 10 tons of palay a hectare at a production cost of P5 a kilo, Protacio said. Armand Galang, Inquirer Central Luzon