Senator Cynthia Villar and Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar are both banking on the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) to make Filipino farmers more competitive and at par with their counterparts from neighboring rice-producing countries.
During the first year anniversary celebration of the RTL in Urdaneta, Pangasinan on March 5, Villar and Dar stressed the benefits of the law to the rice farmers of the country and vowed to continue to pour support to enable them to produce more and double their income.
In his message, Dar underscored that RTL is the best reform that ever happened to the Philippine agriculture sector.
“For one, rice is available and affordable now,” he said.
With the current rice inventory good for 80 days, Dar is optimistic that there will be enough supply until the next harvest season.
The Secretary added that a wide range of rice grades could now be bought from the market “Sa loob lamang po ng isang taon, marami nang iba’t-ibang presyo ng bigas na mabibili sa merkado,” he said adding that consumers now have a choice from regular milled, well-milled and fancy rice varieties.
In line with the signing of the RTL February of last year, DA set in motion the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) to cushion the impact of the low palay prices.
RCEF provides support under four components including the provision of high-yielding rice seed, accessible loan and credit, training and extension, and mechanization. It will run for 6 years, with P10 billion funding per year.
According to Dar, through RCEF, farmers have increased their yields, availed of easy access-low interest financial credit, enhanced their knowledge and skills, and lowered production cost through mechanized farming systems.
“Palalakasin po natin ang mga magsasaka para makatunggali sila sa mga magsasaka ng iba’t-ibang bansa. Sa RTL, ang Filipino ay panalo, ang rice farmer ay panalo,” Dar said.
For Villar, who authored and sponsored the law, RTL was enacted to protect the local farmers from the influx of imported rice, as it removes quantitative limits on rice trading, but puts a minimum 35 percent tariff on imports.
The Senator stressed that the RCEF under RTL aims to make Filipino farmers more competitive.
“Kailangan pong mapababa ang inyong production cost, para maka-compete kayo sa ibang bansa,” she explained.
According to Villar, the Philippines produces rice at P12.00 per kilo, which is twice the rice production cost in Vietnam at P6.00/kilo.
“Hindi pa po kasi tayo mechanized,” she explained.
Under the mechanization component of RCEF, the Philippine Center for Postharvest and Mechanization will provide farm machineries to all the 947 rice-producing municipalities in six years.
Aside from mechanization, Villar said that the government would continue to provide support for the provision of certified seeds, financial assistance, and skills enhancement, to make farmers more profitable and competitive.
“Gusto po nating gawing magaling ang Filipino rice farmers, para sa susunod na mga taon, tayo naman ang makapag-export,” she said. ### (Adora Rodriguez, DA-AFID)
