"When Farmers, Fisherfolks demand Agricultural Sustainability,
not flooding cheap imported foodstuffs"
(Or "thoughts after World Food Day
and why farmers and fisherfolks protest
for food security and social justice”)
"Even if food is available, but the resources to buy basic essentials are limited, it will be a problem." These were the words Agriculture Secretary William Dar said in his World Food Day message last October 13 as he explained underscoring the importance of growing, sustaining, and nourishing together, particularly with the poor as a most vulnerable sector towards hunger and malnutrition. This statement is somehow true, especially in a time people are largely affected by the COVID19 pandemic, most of them end unemployed, depending on government subsidies, and facing the difficulty of price hikes especially that of basic necessities like food and utilities.
Including in his statement he announced that the Inter-Agency Task Force has already approved a new program that will address hunger and malnutrition, even mentioned that he has instructed the re-alignment of programs under the National Rice Program and the Philippine Rice Research Center to address the emerging rice requirement of the people.
On the other hand, farmers and fisherfolks led by Amihan National Federation of Peasant Women, fisherfolks group PAMALAKAYA, and Bantay Bigas protested at Nepa Q-Mart in Quezon City last October 16, dubbing the event as "World Hunger Day." This action was also part of "World Hunger Day Global Action", an international day of protest led by the group People's Coalition for Food Sovereignty. And their demand is for just, equal, healthy, and sustainable food systems and not those promoted by scrupulous multinational food companies whose drivel as that of interest.
"Today is World Food Day and yet many people have no food to eat, as well as those who create food." Said Cathy Estavillo, chairwoman of Amihan in Filipino. The group appealed to Duterte to support local production instead of liberalisation in importing foodstuffs, that of rice, fish, vegetables, and pork. "The Duterte regime clearly failed in its agricultural productivity and food-on-the-table agenda, thus, we are challenging national candidates who claim to offer reforms to sincerely assure the attainment of self-sufficiency and food security in the country, for the benefit of Filipino farmers and poor consumers," Estavillo continued.
Also according to the protesters, Duterte should be assailed for his Rice Tariffication Law as well as that of Executive Order 134 that liberalises importation of pork. Both laws lowered tariffs for imported rice and pork resulting to a flood of imported foodstuffs in markets and loss for local rice and pork farmers. Bantay Bigas even showed data on the particular effects on rice liberalisation in the livelihood of Filipino rice farmers- that the price of palay costs PhP 9.00 per kilo in Iloilo, while PhP 10.00 in Mindoro Occidental, and PhP 14.00 in other provinces. While rice costs PhP 38.00 to PhP 44.00 per kilo (in retail) in Metro Manila. The price of rice itself is not enough for those whose minimum wage as quite low, especially in a time enforced lockdowns by the government resulted to work stoppage and unemployment.
Perhaps the government is trying to appease the affected farmers and fisherfolks if not threatening them because of their opposition to the liberalisation on foodstuff imports. In fact, the statement from the Department of Agriculture emphasized that "importation will be a last resort to support the department’s goal of achieving food sufficiency level for all commodities", while on the other hand claiming that "the rice tariffication law enhances productivity and competitiveness of rice sector"- even it obviously benefited the scrupulous traders who smuggle rice and create artificial scarcity at the expense of the suffering folk. Of course, expect suffering farmers and fisherfolks to protest especially that they're not just affected by the pandemic but also the sudden influx of imported rice, meat, and other foodstuffs "all thanks" to those laws, and wouldn't be surprised if reprisals from authorities would happen on them, blaming altogether as subversives since they're against an unjust, rotten system.
To a concerned would say that since Dar speaks about New Thinking, of empowering farmers and fisherfolks, increase productivity and all, even talking about the use of modern technology to mechanise agriculture, then why not at first repeal unjust laws, of promoting genuine agrarian reform and national industrialisation, and seriously stressing self-sufficiency to feed millions of Filipinos? This may sound repetitive but the demands of the folk means more than just restoring productivity but also reviving the land and empowering the folk.
If countries like Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam have upstaged the Philippines in inclusive growth as what the neoliberal Bernardo Villegas said, then the primary reason is the greater emphasis that their leaders in the past put on improving the lot of their small farmers by endowing them with adequate infrastructures such as farm to market roads, irrigation systems, post-harvest facilities and agricultural services; in fact, this also did happen in the former Soviet Union through its "Agricultural Machinery Stations" aside from organising the peasants into collectives, making way for villages to sound developments from roads, irrigation, to that of schools and hospitals. Even Taiwan whose land reform also includes rural reconstruction creating the basis of agricultural prosperity which led to Taiwan's rapid economic growth in the 1970s and 1980s.
Perhaps, unless the concerns the farmers and fisherfolks been addressed, expect slow productivity and hunger for the many.