WHILE the 60-day rice importation ban announced by Malacañang will shield farmers from falling palay prices during harvest season, Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan lamented that this is insufficient to stop the country’s reliance on imported rice and achieve food security.
“Yung 60-day ban is good as a stop gap measure, but it is not enough. Why are we suspending the entry of imports? Dahil anihan na beginning October, November, December,” he said, pointing out the expected massive drops in palay prices due to imports during harvest season.
“We cannot be dependent on imports because kung biglang tumaas yan, food security ang challenge. Kung mataas ang supply, mataas ang presyo ng bigas at pag mataas ang presyo ng bigas, ang kapalit nyan ay gutom sa milyon-milyon nating kababayan,” the senator added during a recent open forum with student leaders in Tuguegarao City. “Pag food insecure ang ating mga kababayan, you cannot hope to be as productive. Hindi dapat inaccessible, expensive.”
Pangilinan noted that these are the issues he would seek to address as chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform.
In particular, he will push for a P100-billion increase in budget for the Department of Agriculture (DA) to bring this to about P800 billion in the next six years.
The senator, who will deliver his privilege speech later today at 3 PM, on the state of the country’s agricultural sector, pointed out the huge gaps between the Philippines’ agricultural spending and that of its neighbors–Taiwan spends $600 billion a year on agriculture for its 23 million population, while the Philippines spends only $4 billion a year for 120 million Filipinos.
Thailand also spends double the funding of the Philippines on agriculture for a population of 70 million, while Vietnam spends triple for its 90 million population.
The extra funding should be funneled to organizing farmers, giving them access to credit and financial literacy programs, building post-harvest facilities, investing in machinery, and providing aid for pesticides, fertilizers, and crude, among others, Pangilinan pushed.
“Kaya talaga ang pinaka-weakest link sa agriculture supply is the farmer and therefore if the farmer is the weakest link then the farmer must have the biggest support to be able to strengthen the farmers and fisherfolk, and that’s what we’re going to work on,” the senator explained.
“In the next six years, yan ang ipaglalaban natin. Tiyaking hindi ninanakaw ang pondo. Hindi lang correct spending, tiyaking walang corrupt spending,” he stressed.
