On Duterte's DA, NFA to buy all rice from Local Farmers:
An act driven by compulsion due to farmers affected by Rice Tarrification
It's been an act driven by a compulsion as president Duterte ordered the National Food Authority to buy unhusked rice from local farmers "to help them cope with the effects of the Rice Tarrification Law."
For as farmers have been complaining of low buying prices for rice due to that said law, such as those from Ilocos and Central Luzon regions who hath earlier complained that the price dipped from P21 to only P7 per kilo- and they all blamed the implementation of the Rice Tariffication law, which they said impacted heavily on local prices.
With this issue would say that Duterte seems to be compelled in doing it so despite insisting that the law "served the greater interest of the majority", all despite that the NFA "would be at the losing end" if it buys unhusked rice at a rate above the prevailing market price of 7 pesos per kilo, hence urging a need for a compromise if not letting the authorities subsidise a portion of the buying price.
“As the NFA engages in palay buying spree, farmers cannot demand a price,” Duterte said. “You arrive at a compromise of how much you are willing to lose a little bit. Buy at a rate that compensates their labor.”
A monopoly making multiple killings at the expense of the working folk
(and how apologists would dare to justify it amidst the problem)
But despite this statement, reality shows like this: that despite its alleged benefits like increasing rice supply and providing funds supposedly for the development of rice production, rice traders especially those who are close to the administration have the monopoly in regards to the trading of both local and imported rice and grains. These make a multiple killing at the expense of the working folk, particularly the peasant and its communities by flooding them with imported rice, thus driving down the price of its local counterpart, and by buying it at its diven-down price and selling in its far-higher part together with the imported ones.
For sure apologists would either deny or mum about it, especially with the price of local rice as expected to increase one, two, or three-fold with traders exploiting this kind of venture- all with cahoots with the administration and its "National Food Authority." At one time there was an apologist who insisted that then-opposing NFA should not oppose the Rice Tarrification Law but instead support it and help in its effective implementation as if the law can help lower the price of rice here in the country and to allow unimpede stocks of rice in the market from imports abroad while as if seeing a government authority able to many stocks of rice from the Filipino farmers directly in a right price.
Still, a dismayed farmer, the urge to oppose Rice Tarrification,
and the demand for genuine support for farmers
But instead of seeing developments what people see is this: a dismayed farmer, of seeing prices of his produce gone lower due to cheap imports, and corrupt officials benefiting from its venture, and to think that apologist commenting would say that the law may able for the farmer to "work hard" as it competes with its imported counterparts, sadly it isn't. As rice watch groups Amihan and Bantay Bigas said through a Philstar article that the P15,000 loan that the DA offered to farmers is not even enough to help farmers get out of their predicament.
“Fifteen thousand is just 22 to 33 percent of the entire cost of production for a hectare of land which is at least P45,000 to as much as P68,000 that included farm inputs, rental equipment, post-harvest facilities, land rent and interest in farmers’ loan,” said Cathy Estavillo, Amihan secretary general and Bantay Bigas spokesperson.
She even pointed out that the low palay buying prices resulted in a loss of P25,000 to P31,000 to farmers.
“How will they be able to pay their debts? If we are to divide the P1.5 billion, only 100,000 from the 2.4 million farmers or four percent will be reached by the government’s SURE Aid (Expanded Survival and Recovery Assistance Program for Rice Farmers),” Estravillo also said.
With this reality would say that the state who supposed to protect them chose not to by letting the market prevail-forcing them to sell cheap their hard-earned produce to the market. And Duterte's reaction to this matter, particularly the order for the NFA to buy local rice from affected farmers may consider it as a compulsion knowing that news outlets regarding this agri issue has the potential to cost his support from the farmers still demanding agrarian reform and genuine rural development.
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Anyway, regardless of these mums, denials, or justifications surrounding this law and its effect on farmers, the concerned would still express opposition knowing that the law failed to support these folks and their communities, if not seeing how that law as actually a blueprint to a capitalist agenda such as forcing to give up arable land to multinational agrocorporations, what more of land developers particularly those of Cynthia Villar and her real estate venture.
The idea of rice tarrification may sound nice to some peoples ears especially by taxing rice imports to "support local farmers", but to see flooding cheap rice at the expense of local farmers, what more a reactive government in seeing such matters surrounding its own agriculture would say this kind of law and other related laws as a mockery of agricultural development- by fending the farmers for themselves and not by seriously supported by the government, all despite the rhetoric of concern as shown by pictures and of press releases. The rice watch groups said that the damage of rice liberalization they warned about as now evident, especially in the farmers’ situation and the local rice industry, hence the urge for various sectors and rice stakeholders to defend the Filipino farmers’ livelihood and the local agriculture sector as necessary-one of which is to oppose and junk that unjust act.