Solis, Kaye Ivana

Catalan, Jannelle Micah

Balboa, Kathleen
Essay Type: Position Paper
English for Academic and Professional Purposes
TOP 21
Ramona Marcelo

Local Farmer in the Philippines

Agriculture is the backbone of the economy. The Philippines is the 8th largest rice
producer in the world, accounting for 2.8% of global rice production. The Philippines
was also the world's largest rice importer in 2010. In 2010, nearly 15.7 million metric
tons of palay or pre-husked rice were produced. In 2010, palay accounted for 21.86%
percent of gross value added in agriculture and 2.37% of GNP. GNP is called Gross
National Product that takes into account the manufactures of tangible goods such as
vehicles, agricultural products, machinery, etc. Self-sufficiency in rice reached 88.93%
in 2015.
Rice production in the Philippines has grown significantly since the 1950s. Improved
varieties of rice developed during the Green Revolution, including at the International
Rice Research Institute based in the Philippines have improved crop yields. Crop yields
have also improved due to increased use of fertilisers. Average productivity increased
from 1.23 metric tons per hectare in 1961 to 3.59 metric tons per hectare in 2009.
Harvest Yields have increased significantly by using foliar fertilizer based on PhilRice
National Averages. Local Farmers should not agree on importing rice for the
reason that insufficient income, absence hand of government, and unenthusiastic
with rice tarrification law.
Workers in the agriculture sector are among the lowest in the Philippine country. The
farmers remain as one of the poorest sectors in the country due to short income from our
small-scale and subsistence farmers tackling how unfair to their part is, as they provide
us a rice to fulfill our hungriness yet they are the one who's dying from hunger. A farmer
income takes only quarterly depends on their harvest, but a probability of one year is only
takes a 3/2 months to harvest, also depends if the land is irrigated since many lands are
not provided of waters and they only depend on rainy seasons to plant. Sadly, if El Niño
known as dry season and typhoon could harm their farms since it might also destroy their
source of income. According to ABS-CBN news, “Farmers are among the least paid
workers in the Philippine economy with an average daily wage and salary of P156.8 and
P178.43, respectively in 2011”, then others unprofessional jobs who gets 357 above and
also has a comfortable roof above them. Apparently, our farmers are really dying from
short income before, then now it is gotten worse than before, as we heard from news.
The fact that our agriculture is dying since our farmers are getting older and their children
have shifted on other course, clearly for the reason that agriculture here in Philippines
has no future. Farmer has many responsibilities on their back they support their family's
food for everyday and to their child's education, sometimes they stop their child's
education to help them in the field, they’re deserved to be valued, they’re deserved to
lessen the problems they face in financial since they provide us a food to fulfill our empty
stomachs.

Sen. Cynthia Villar stated “that the farmers invest 12 pesos for the 17 pesos they will sell,
with 5 pesos of profit per kilogram is enough to sustain their everyday living.” It shows the
absence hand of government shows the imbalance dealing with poor people especially
to our local farmers. If the land of farmers stop using it for a profitability of businessmen
like subdivision. According to Mr. Danilo Ramos, the chairperson of Kilusang Magbubukid
ng Pilipinas said, we are losing our agricultural lands and food farms to land grabbing and
land-use conversion. National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) admits that the
country lack contiguous lands for agriculture and rice planting. The KMP official added
that “being ‘food poor’ is a result of an undeveloped agriculture and food farming due to
constant land grabs and land-use conversions, the KMP said control and ownership of
lands have slipped out of farmers' hand. An article stated, “A man looks devastated as he
and other farmers wait in line to sign documents as part of cash loan requirements
intended to help farmers in Nueva Ecija on Monday.” Yes, rarely farmers get help from
government through cooperative, if the farmers is member of cooperative they can get a
loans, fertilizer for their rice etc, but the catch here are not all farmer are members of
cooperative since it's difficult to be a member of it considered the fact that Philippines has
only limited cooperative and we have a thousands of farmers/labors farmers for every
rural communities, clearly many farmers can't reach out the help of every farmers. A
farmers are also victims of poverty, those having wrinkled skin burnt by the sun just to
earn an honest and healthy living for their everyday lives they deserve a long due respect.

The Rice Tariffication Law is to stabilized the price of rice but it never happened since the
law are such a failure, or Republic Act No. 11203, has failed to bring promised benefits
to farmers and instead being used by traders for excessive profiteering. RA 11203, which
was signed into law in February, liberalized rice importation in the country and was
intended to solve the worsening rice shortage in the country. Since its implementation,
however, the law has been widely blamed for the plunging farm-gate prices of palay, or
unhusked rice, to as low as P7 a kilo, causing an uproar among rice farmers. According
to Salceda, traders take advantage of farmers’ lack of access to storage, drying, milling
and transport facilities needed to sell directly to the consumer,they turned lawmakers into
fools, In short, it’s bad traders cheating. Rice Tarrification is just a waste, we don't need
imports since local farmers can provide the rice of Philippines, if our government
acknowledge to support them. In provincial, they can’t feel the price decrease since there
is no imported rice there, obviously rice trader is the one who’s responsible of it through
hoarding. The imports have a big impact for our local farmers, it will lessen their
consumers and to their income, considered the fact of assumptions of Filipino that the
rice imports are lowest. The actuality that the prices are still high especially in provinces,
only means thatall Filipino are still can't get a benefits here, farmers are the victims of
businessman and rice traders, they manipulate the prices, don’t put them in the shoes of
offender.

As stated by Senator Villar, she seems to blame farmers for their poor living conditions.
She also blames the farmers for not making a profit because she said she has the right
understanding of the business. “Many of our farmers do not earn money because they
do not have the proper business sense. They do not understand how to run the farm
efficiently to make it profitable,” said Villar. However, we must also look what is good for
all Filipino. We have to be fair in all aspect, since farmers caught the attention of
government it should also give notice to other poor Filipino who can't afford to buy a 50
pesos above of a rice. The law brings a lot of benefit except for farmers, we shouldn't
focus on agriculture only. The imports help the other poor Filipino to lessen their
problems when it comes to financial. Government should not only focus in agriculture
since it has many people who also deserves the attention in our economy just like
unprofessional jobs, free medicine who can't afford in hospital, scholarships, healthcare,
in squatters area also they set to implementing its 1.5 billion loan assistance program
for farmers to help ease the impact of lower palay rice. On the authority of Senator
Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III today said that the impending signing into law of the rice
tariffication measure is expected to "stabilize rice prices, boost food security, and cure a
decades-long rice procurement system ridden with inefficiency and corruption." He said
"The NFA retains its functions to buy palay from local farmers, but it will not be involved
in importation. This should lead to a more focused and improved NFA, which will be
tasked to work with the Agriculture department to develop cost-efficient systems that will
boost domestic rice production and assist our struggling rice farmers." the NFA would
be tasked mainly to ensure the sufficiency of buffer stocks for use in emergencies.

My team are delegated to share a linkage with you. This opportunity that we must not put
in the trash. We’re here to voice out that Local Farmers should not agree on importing
rice for the reason that insufficient income, absence hand of government, and
unenthusiastic with rice tarrification law. Whether the current efforts of government
will be successful, only time will truly tell. Many efforts have not yielded rice, but perhaps,
it is time also for everyone to recognize that we can’t leave everything to government, we
must also stand for our Filipino farmers, the one who struggle to give their family a future,
and to provide us a rice. Weaponizing social media, in terms of social network use, to
aware of all Filipino about this current issue by delivering content so engaging that
individual netizen will be motivated to share it. And on the other side, The government
could negotiate with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) private sector support office to
finance a fund for modernizing the rice mills in our country. A local development bank,
like the Development Bank of the Philippines, can retail the loan to millers. If on average
we can push milling conversion rates to 65%, that would give millers more space to
compete effectively with rice imports which are taxed at 35%. The features of the rice
tariffication law has the potential of becoming an inclusive trade liberalization reform.
Consumers benefit from the reform, and are partly taxed for it with the 35% import tariff.
Its revenues go to RCEF, which can accumulate at least P10 billion a year to give rice
farmers the opportunity to retool and make rice farming in the country more productive,
or even to assist them to shift to other farming businesses. With the fund, adjustment
costs of rice farmers can be lowered, resulting in fewer farmers exiting the agriculture
sector.

REFERENCES

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Kathleen M. Farmers, fishermen among lowest paid in PH (Internet). ABS-CBNnews;

2013 April 12 (Updated as of Apr 12 2013 11:51 PM ; cited 2019 september 23).
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Roni S. Rice at center of PH agriculture’s problems (Internet). The Nation's Leading

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Sara G. Agriculture is dying in the Philippines (Internet). The Philippine Star; 2018 June
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Kiko P. Seeking ban on farm land conversion to subdivisions, malls, factories (Internet).
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Cynthia Villar, sinisi ang PH farmers kung bakit mahirap ang kanilang pamumuhay:
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