ECONOMISTS and rice industry leaders are pushing for mixed policy recommendations, pressing the national government for sustained implementation of Republic Act (RA) 11203, or the "Rice Tariffication Law (RTL)," with strong and guaranteed support for affected farmers across the country.
To prevent the government's tarrification program for the rice industry to be "disastrous," they said there is a need for safety nets for the protection of farmers, which they claim "have not been installed as evidenced by farmers' poor plight from palay's (unmilled rice) collapsing price."
The call was made during the "Regional Implications in the Philippines' RTL" forum organized by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA).
"The challenges we always face every cropping season relative to systemic barriers to farmers' income were not addressed head on in the RTL," said Cresente Paez, director of Asian Farmers Association for Rural Sustainable Development.
"Safety nets for the protection of the farmers and consuming public were not taken into account concretely and strongly. A lot is said about promises. [But there is a need for] 'guarantee' of protection," Paez added.
He explained that challenges waiting to be addressed with the implementation of RA 11203 include price volatility, land productivity, climate change's effects, market power that involves cartels (traders hoarding rice) resulting in market abnormalities, governance, corruption, weak government agencies, and faulty extension delivery.
"The RTL, if not well calibrated in its implementation, will be disastrous, and it is now happening this early," Paez said.
The way to go is for the government to have a system in which the "right price of the right rice" can be determined because this has significant implications for both the farmers and consumers, SEARCA Director Glenn Gregorio said.
"Farmers depend on the right price of rice for their income and livelihood. Consumers, likewise, depend on the right price of rice for their economical consumption of the staple as an important factor in keeping a desirable standard of living," he added.
Jansinee Kankaew of Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (Apterr) Secretariat, said the altered function of the National Food Authority (NFA) as a result of RA 11203 may adversely affect implementation of Apterr, a reserve fund of 787,000 metric tons (MT) contributed by Asean members for emergency use, in which the Philippines contributes 12,000 MT of rice.
The new law removed the NFA's rice importation function and repealed its regulatory powers over the grains industry. Instead, it was tasked to buffer stocks management for emergencies and calamities through buying palay solely from local farmers.
Kankaew said the Apterr program should be maintained for emergency purposes amid the implementation of the RTL.
Following the passage of RA 11203, there has been initial shock as the Philippines imported rice this year at above 10 percent of total consumption, according to Ramon Clarete of the University of the Philippines School of Economics. The said figure is a significant jump compared to just 5 to 7 percent of the country's imports in previous years.
Yet this import percentage will likely no longer exceed 15 percent, Clarete said.
Alliance of farms
Furthermore, to cope up with the demands of the rice industry's demand on competitiveness as a result of the RTL, the government should facilitate alliances of farms.
Doing so will not only boost productivity but also help small farms to commonly achieve economies of scale.
"The one-hectare farm household or so can still be part of the industry. The farm can actually boost its productivity if it joins an alliance of several others and get their aggregated farm managed professionally," Clarete said.
Meanwhile, Jerry Pacturan, country program officer of International Fund for Agricultural Development, said the RTL is on track in supporting rural transformation and modernization.
"It will foster better use of resources, higher productivity, farm consolidation, mechanization of the rice sector and improved focus on suitable rice areas," he said.
Nevertheless, the government should have a "more responsive strategy," so the vision toward diversification of the agriculture sector will be a reality. With diversified agriculture, farmers will be able to shift or add growing more profitable high value crops — fruits and vegetables — and earn higher income.
"If resources are managed properly and government focuses equal attention on other high value crops that the country has a competitive advantage in a highly productive, quality-oriented, product-differentiated, and modernized rice industry, [this] will improve agriculture performance," said Pacturan.
The country may even be able to export specialty and heirloom rice from upland farms, he added.