Several farm groups have appealed for concrete government help amid continuing issues in the sector.
With the looming global food crisis, groups led by food security advocacy group Tugon Kabuhayan called on local government units (LGUs) to help prioritize agriculture in their budget and expenditure programs especially with the forthcoming implementation of the Mandanas ruling.
The group citedthe computations of the Department of Finance that under the Mandanas ruling, a P234.6-billion increase in the National Tax Allotment of LGUs will be pushed starting this year.
Tugon Kabuhayan said funding for agriculture is in preparation for the looming food crisis in the second half of the year that Agriculture Secretary William Dar warned about.
Earlier, the group also urged LGUs to prioritize production support and post-harvest investments for agriculture and fisheries due to the anticipated increase in budget.
“With the supply shortfall and rising cost of feeds products that we are experiencing amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine and the rising cost of agricultural inputs, we believe it is high time for the local government to boost their support to local agriculture,” Asis Perez, Tugon Kabuhayan convenor, said in an online briefing yesterday.
The group also recommended that non-agricultural cities shoulder a portion of the subsidy since their constituents are dependent on farming municipalities in the provision of their food supply especially rice.
During the briefing, Virgilio Paran, president of Bulakin Farmers Association in Tiaong, said local rice growers are already discouraged after three straight seasons of no profit.
“The little money we saved are given to our members to help them buy materials or provide loans. Our farmers are taking a break for now, waiting if government will provide assistance so they could start farming again. The inputs are expensive, tilling the land is expensive,” Paran said.
Danilo Gueverra, president of the Pederasyon ng mga Magsasaka ng Tiaong Inc., estimated the current cost of farming one hectare at P50,000 while it used to be P30,000, mainly due to rising fertilizer prices and crude oil.
Amid the situation, the Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) recommended a P37 billion to P38 billion subsidy to palay farmers for this cropping season.
“This is a large amount, however, the price of not subsidizing will be greater in terms of social and political cost in our country. Especially now with the incoming administration, a food crisis will mean political instability,” Raul Montemayor, FFF national manager, said during the same event.
Montemayor also warned that most rice farmers are now considering switching to corn which sells for a higher price.
“With the impending food crisis, we can’t afford to be dependent on imports for our food. We are putting our nation at the mercy of importers. We don’t want to discourage our farmers from producing, because if the global market is unstable, we won’t have many options left to us,” Montemayor said.
In a separate statement, the FFF also criticized the government’s decision to keep the reduced tariffs on rice imports saying this did not result in lower prices for rice as savings in customs duties only benefitted importers.
Agricultural lobby group Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG)likewise appealed against the government’s preference to rely on importation despite the looming global food crisis.
“It is the right of every country to protect and support their agriculture and domestic markets. The only way out of the food price crisis is to support local production, subsidize farm inputs and help farmers across the whole production chain. All countries will naturally protect their own domestic needs first,” Jayson Cainglet, SINAG executive director, said in a statement.
He added the country should focus on local production, with political upheavals, pandemics and natural calamities occurring more often than before, which makes the disruption of the global supply chain and price volatility the new normal.
