A press conference on the Rice Trade Liberalization Law will be held on March 5, 2019, 9:30am-12pm at Max’s Restaurant, Quezon City Circle.
Below is the press statement of the Alliance of Rice Farmers Against Rice Tariffication and participating organizations.
We, from various national farmer organizations, civil society groups, and food sovereignty advocates oppose the anti-farmer law. This law titled “RA 11203: An Act Liberalizing the Importation, Exportation and Trading of Rice, Lifting for the Purpose the Quantitative Import Restriction on Rice,” is not the solution to the ongoing rice crisis. This law favors the business interests of rice importers and suspected rice smugglers over poor rice farmers. This piece of legislation abandons the State’s capability to regulate rice importation. NFA is limited to maintaining buffer stock for an emergency situation and disaster relief. NFA functions such as registration, licensing and supervision of importers and all other grains businesses are removed. RA 11203 hands over regulation of rice importation to traders and importers. This is another form of legalizing rice cartel! Where does government figure in this setup? Think about this: Whatever rice production gains achieved in 2017 and in previous production years will be put to waste with tarrification without state support. Rice tarrification runs opposite to what rice farmers and other food security advocates campaigned for to level the playing field against rice importation. Its principal author, Sen. Cynthia Villar, must have thought that this law would make rice affordable to Filipinos along with improving local rice production. But the truth is that it will neither make rice cheap nor succeed in making local rice farming viable and productive. Here’s why: The bill liberalizes rice importation by the private sector without any restrictions. This means big corporations (San Miguel Corporation for example) can import rice freely at unlimited volumes and without applying for any license except a routine permit from the Bureau of Plant Industry. Corporations can now import as much as two million tons. So far, at least 180 corporations all over the Philippines have expressed interest to enlist as importers! Aside from that glaring oversight, the budget allocated for rice farmers is sorely insignificant? Take for example the lack of crop insurance for their produce, vital safety net measure for rice farmers. The law ensures the full mechanization of the rice production industry which will result in massive displacement of rice farmers and farm workers. Yet, half of the proposed Php 10 billion rice fund will be allocated for rice mechanization!
Mechanization aside, the government ignores a bleak reality: The staggeringly high prevalence of bankruptcy among rice farmers (baon sa utang ang karamihan ng magsasaka sa palay!). By penning this law, Sen. Villar ensures the death of the rice industry! Pres. Duterte should review and junk this law and in its place, draft another measure that represents the interest of rice farmers and producers, consumers not only the interest of importers.
A plea to the government and the NFA for transparency: Release the list of 180 corporations who plan to import rice.
Alliance of Rice Farmers Against Rice Tariffication
Participating Organizations:
Pambansang Kilusan Kababaihan sa Kanayunan (PKKK)
Centro Saka, Rights Watch, PKSK
Save Agrarian Reform Alliance
Integrated Rural Development Foundation
Pambansang Kilusan ng Magbubukid sa Pilipinas
DKmp (Ka Jimmy Tadeo)
National Movement for Food Sovereignty (NMFS)
Kilusan para sa Repormang Agraryo at Kataturungan Panlipunan (KATARUNGAN)
Rice Watch Action Network
Federation of Free Farmers
