National Food Authority chief Tomas Escarez Tuesday deplored the “definite” worker layoff in the agency following President Rodrigo Duterte’s approval of the rice tariffication law.
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The tariffication law, which will replace the present quotas on rice imports with tax, removes the NFA’s power to import and distribute cheaper grain, leaving it with the sole task of buying grain from farmers to maintain buffer stocks, Escarez told radio dzMM, in a broadcast beamed nationwide.
Buffer stocks intended for calamities and emergencies should last for 15 days. Its management does not require many employees, he said.
The NFA is tasked to stabilize prices by buying grain from farmers and selling it at P27 and P32, cheaper compared to commercial rice.
With NFA’s new role requiring less manpower, worker layoff is certain, Escarez said.
In a related development, Senator Cynthia Villar blasted the NFA for blocking the rice tariffication as it would lose the power to control rice importation.
“Because that was the only power removed from it. But they can still buy rice from farmers. They will retain the same budget, but the instruction is to buy from local farmers. But that is their job, that is their mandate, to buy from the local farmers at a certain price and sell it to consumers at a lower price. that’s the NFA mandate. It was never to import,” explained Villar.
Sought for her comment on the NFA head who was almost in tears with the rice tariffication, Villar replied, “if he loves the public, why did he fail to control the price of P45, P55, and P65 during the last quarter of year? Is it not their duty to stabilize the prices of rice? Why did they stabilize the price?”
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As this developed, Villar welcomed participants and government officials to the Villar Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation and Governance (Villar SIPAG) Farm School in Bacoor, Cavite for the launching of the Program to Improve Rice Productivity and Mechanization for Agrarian Reform Beneficiary Organizations.
The program is being launched to prepare for the implementation of the law amending Republic Act 8178 or the Agricultural Tariffication Act of 1996, which replaces the quantitative restriction on rice with tariffs.
Villar, chairperson of the Committee on Agriculture and Food, said with the implementation of the Rice Tariffication law, more comprehensive training programs on farm mechanization and new technologies the better-inbred seeds would be held to reach more farmers.
Villar’s SIPAG farm school has started conducting training of this kind since last year.
“This is the mechanism being prepared by the government to support farmers as we enter a tariffied system and rice imports start flooding the market,” Villar said.
Villar said this program would help remove the factors identified as barriers to the Filipino farmer’s competitiveness and profitability such as the lack of mechanization and technical expertise, lack of financial literacy and the lack of access to cheap credit.
These clusters will discuss with officials of DA, TESDA, and DAR the support needed by farm organizations to improve rice production, as well as their commitment for the success of the program.
Under the new law, the P10-billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (Rice Fund) composed of duties collected from imported rice will be created and will be spent for programs that will help farmers improve productivity, profitability, and competitiveness.
The Rice Fund will be allocated as follows:
• Fifty percent will go to PhilMech to provide farmers with rice farm machineries and equipment;
• Thirty percent will be released to PhilRice to be used for the development, propagation, and promotion of inbred rice seeds to rice farmers and the organization of rice farmers into seed growers associations engaged in seed production and trade;
• Ten percent will be made available in the form of credit facility with minimal interest rates and with minimum collateral requirements to rice farmers and cooperatives to be managed by the Land Bank of the Philippines and the Development Bank of the Philippines; and
• Ten percent will be set aside to fund extension services by PhilMech, ATI, and TESDA for teaching skills on rice crop production, modern rice farming techniques, seed production, farm mechanization, and knowledge/ technology transfer through farm schools nationwide.
Also under the law, direct financial assistance will be provided to rice farmers as compensation for the projected reduction or loss of farm income arising from the tariffication.
Further, the rice tariffication law earmarks a portion of the excess rice tariff revenues for the titling of agricultural lands, expanded crop insurance program on rice and the crop diversification program.
The program is a joint undertaking of Villar SIPAG, Department of Agriculture, Department of Agrarian Reform, the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization, Philippine Rice Research Institute, Agricultural Training Institute and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.
Present during the launch were TESDA Secretary Isidro Lapeñna and DAR Secretary John Castriciones.
The participants were agrarian reform beneficiaries in different provinces and were grouped into 7 clusters—Cluster 1: Ifugao, Zambales, Cavite, and Palawan; Cluster 2: Albay, Camarines Sur, Masbate, and Sorsogon; Cluster 3: Aklan, Capiz, Negros Occidental, Iloilo, and Antique;
Cluster 4: Bohol and Negros Oriental; Cluster 5: Samar, Leyte, Southern Leyte, and Biliran; Cluster 6: Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga Sibugay, Bukidnon, Misamis Oriental, and Misamis Occidental; and Cluster 7: Davao del Sur, Sarangani, Surigao del Sur, Lanao del Sur, and Maguindanao.
