The Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) has asked the Department of Agriculture (DA) to intervene and procure their palay at a premium following the sharp decline in farmgate prices.
Rosendo So, SINAG chairman, said the DA can set aside fund from the P152 billion to procure the expected 8 billion kilograms of palay that will be harvested this harvest season at P19 per kg.
However, DA’s budget for the year is only ay P62.29 billion and was supplemented with another P31 billion under the Bayanihan 1 Act with more funds expected for the second iteration of the said law.
So said farmgate prices of palay have fallen to P12.50 to 13.50 per kg. with harvest season still a month away.
He said this price range is lower than the breakeven farmgate price of fresh harvest of P14.50 per kg.
Farmers fear prices will further drop during the actual harvest season.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed farmgate price of palay was at P18.39 per kg as of the third week of August, slightly higher than the previous week’s P18.35 per kg. and 4.4 percent more compared to 2019’s P16.61 per kg.
“Who will buy our local palay? Our member millers are also appealing since their store houses are still filled and they cannot keep up with the unimpeded entry of imported rice after the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL),” So said.
He said government should consider procuring palay from local farmers to sell them directly to retailers, institutions and agencies doing relief efforts during the pandemic.
He added farmers will also have a hard time selling rice bran for animal feeds since the country is still affected with the African swine fever.
“The DA must… forge a deal with local rice farmers that they will buy all the palay that will be harvested this coming weeks and months, if only for the rice farmers to survive this cropping season and the RTL,” So said.
Under the implementing rules and regulations of the RTL, the government through the National Food Authority, can only source palay from local farmers to maintain the country’s rice buffer stocks to be used in times of calamity or emergency.
In a separate statement, the Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) decried the failure of the Senate Committee on Agriculture to resolve the persistent delay in the release of loans under the Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (ACEF).
The group said P3.5 billion loan applications of over 2,000 farmers under ACEF have been pending with the Land Bank of the Philippines since early this year due to thr inability to replenish the fund.
FFF cited reports presented during a recent Senate Committee on Agriculture meeting that the bank has lent all of the P4.16 billion it had received from ACEF as of January but had to stop since then pending fund replenishment.
Raul Montemayor, FFF national manager, said the Bureau of Customs reported the ACEF special account still has a balance of over P3 billion that could be disbursed.