Tolentino seeks gov’t subsidy for rice farmers after series of storms

Senate Majority Leader Francis “Tol” Tolentino

MANILA, Philippines – Senate Majority Leader Francis “Tol” Tolentino believes that immediate measures must be undertaken by the government to aid rice farmers following the massive losses incurred by palay-producing provinces due to the series of typhoons that battered the country.

In his regular radio program “Usapang TOL,” Tolentino said that agriculture suffered P786 million in damages from recent typhoons, particularly from Kristine to Pepito. Of this, 53 percent, or P414 million, was incurred by the rice sector alone.

READ: DA: Agriculture losses due to typhoons hit P6.83B

“This affected 32,000 hectares of rice farms and 19,000 metric tons in lost production,” said Tolentino, while pointing out that the critical losses to the rice sector would affect next year’s supply and prices, and greatly impact food security.

Rosendo So, chair of the Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (Sinag), who was interviewed on Tolentino’s program, said the losses could even be higher, considering that many affected rice farms were on the expansion stage, and could have yielded more.

So is appealing to the government to consider raising back rice tariffs to generate much-needed subsidies for farmers’ support through the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF).

To recall, rice tariffs were slashed from 35% to 15% beginning June until year 2028, under Executive Order (EO) No.62, supposedly as an inflation control measure.

The Sinag chairperson, however, reported to Tolentino that the tariff cuts have not led to lower rice prices in the long term, indicating that only rice traders might have benefited from paying lower tariffs for their rice imports.

Tolentino said that he will take up the matter with Senator Cynthia Villar, chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, who emphasized during the budget deliberations last week that the RCEF needs to be subsidized in the 2025 budget to compensate for the losses incurred by the fund from the huge tariff slash.

So also stressed the need to accelerate the irrigation program to cover more rice fields to sustain the country’s yield during good weather in anticipation of the typhoon season and the expected onset of the La Niña phenomenon.

“Based on the inputs of Sinag and official data, immediate interventions are necessary to aid our palay farmers, with the interest of our consumers in mind. Ensuring rice supply is a gut issue, it is our staple food and a key component of our country’s food security,” he concluded.