Villar to DA:
Return P4 billion for rice fund
August 6, 2019
SEN. Cynthia Villar on Monday asked the Department of
Agriculture (DA) to return the P4 billion meant for programs to assist farmers
after the lifting of the quantitative restriction (QR) on rice imports.
Villar, chairman of the Committee on Agriculture and Food,
recalled that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) released P5 billion
in December last year in anticipation of the enactment into law of Republic Act
(RA) 11203, which mandated the creation of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement
Fund (RCEF).
In a statement, Villar noted that of the amount, only P1 billion
went to RCEF’s program providing farmers access to cheap credit through the
Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) and the Development Bank of the
Philippines (DBP).
Outgoing Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol maintained that
the P5 billion released by the DBM to the DA last year was not part of the
RCEF.
With the appointment of William Dar as secretary of DA, Villar
expressed hope that the department will now be more supportive of the full
implementation of the law and that the new secretary will prioritize the return
of P4 billion to RCEF.
“Even if the money has been spent as the measure has not been
passed, the DA should have waited and should not have spent the money for other
things. I want the DA to account for the remaining P4 billion and also to make
sure that P4 billion will be immediately returned to RCEF,” Villar said in a
mix of English and Filipino.
Villar added the amount is needed to jump-start the programs
enumerated in the law, which was already delayed by the late approval of the
2019 General Appropriations Act.
RA 11203, which was signed by President Duterte on February 14,
replaced the QR on rice imports with tariffs. The collected amount will be
given to farmers to improve their competitiveness through RCEF.
“What I do not want to hear is that only P5 billion is left for
RCEF this year. That is not right, it is against the law,” Villar said.
Under RCEF, P5 billion will be allocated to the Philippine
Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech) for the procurement of
farm equipment to be distributed to 947 rice producing towns in the
Philippines.
The Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) will get P3
billion so it could teach farmers how to produce inbred seeds, which will
increase their yield by up to 50 percent from 4 metric tons per hectare to 6 MT
per hectare.
The LandBank and the DBP will also be given P1 billion from the
RCEF for the creation of a credit facility with minimal interest rates and
collateral requirements.
The remaining P1 billion is allocated to PhilMech, PhilRice, the
Agriculture Training Institute and the Technical Education and Skills
Development Authority for the skills training of farmers in rice crop
production, modern rice farming techniques, seed production, farm
mechanization, farm machinery servicing and maintenance, and knowledge and
technology transfer through farm schools nationwide.
Acting Agri chief: Where
is farmers' P4-billion fund from rice imports?
ABS-CBN News
MANILA -- New Acting Agriculture Secretary William Dar on
Tuesday said he will order an audit into the whereabouts of P4 billion in funds
that should have gone to programs for increasing the production of local
farmers.
The amount is part of the P10-billion Rice Competitiveness
Enhancement Fund (RCEF) that farmers should get yearly from tariff collections
on imported rice.
The budget agency earlier this year released P5 billion from the
RCEF to the Department of Agriculture, of which P1 billion went to loans for
farmers and P4 billion remains unaccounted for, Sen. Cynthia Villar earlier
said.
"Gusto kong kumuha ng feedback sa ating mga liderato later
on... Iyung P4 billion, nasaan po? Sabihin na natin na and'yan, they just have
to properly account," Dar told reporters.
(I want to get feedback from our leadership later on. Where is
the P4 billion? Let's say that it's just there, they just have to properly
account for it.)
In the next 100 days, Dar said he wants to accelerate the
implementation of RCEF and educate some 3 million farmers about the program.
Dar said he also aims to double the income of farmers and
fishermen in the next 5 years through industrialization, promotion of exports,
infrastructure development, and higher budget and investments, among others.
"Gustong mag-iwan ng legacy ang ating Pangulo: na by the end of his term ay umangat ang kabuhayan at aangat ang quality of life ng ating magsasaka at mangingisda," he said.
"Gustong mag-iwan ng legacy ang ating Pangulo: na by the end of his term ay umangat ang kabuhayan at aangat ang quality of life ng ating magsasaka at mangingisda," he said.
(Our President wants to leave a legacy: that by the end of his
term, the livelihood and quality of life of our farmers and fishermen would
have improved.)
Farmers and fishermen consistently registered the highest
poverty incidence among 9 sectors in 2006, 2009, 2012 and 2015, according to a report by the Philippine Statistics
Authority.
An agriculture worker earns around P192 daily, the agency said
in another report.
Dar, a horticulturist, briefly served as agriculture chief
during former President Joseph Estrada's term.
His predecessor, former Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol, was appointed chairman of the
Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA).
GIEWS Country Brief: Guinea-Bissau 5-August-2019
REPORT
Published on 05 Aug 2019 —
FOOD SECURITY SNAPSHOT
·
Late arrival of rains delayed
planting of 2019 cereal crops
·
Slightly above-average production
gathered in 2018
·
Increasing cereal import
requirements
·
Overall satisfactory food
security situation
Late arrival of rains delayed planting of 2019 cereal crop
Seasonal rains started
late in June, delaying planting operations of maize, millet and sorghum, for
harvesting from September. However, abundant rains since mid-June contributed
to replenish soil moisture and favoured seed germination and plant
establishment. Planting operations for rice, the major cereal crop produced in
the country, are underway and will be completed by August. The harvest is
expected to be completed in January.The conditions of natural pasture coverage
are satisfactory and rains have filled the main water points at optimal levels
across the country. Due to the abundance and diversification of biomass, the
animal body condition is satisfactory. The health situation remains overall
stable.
Slightly above-average production gathered in 2018
Despite some localized flooding
in June 2018 and Fall Armyworm attacks on the maize crop, the 2018 national
cereal production was estimated at 224 000 tonnes, about 5 percent above the
five-year average. Production has been increasing steadily over the past few
years due to the support from the Government and its development partners,
including PADES (South Economic Development Support Project) in the south and
PDCV (Rice Value Chain Development Project) in the east of the country, that
contributed to increase the area cultivated with cereals.
Increasing cereal import requirements
Over 45 percent of the national
cereal utilization in the country is covered by imports. Rice accounts for
about 80 percent of the import requirements, followed by wheat, which accounts
for about 15 percent. Despite the above-average domestic production obtained in
2018, import requirements for the 2018/19 (November/October) marketing year are
forecast at 140 000 tonnes, allowing traders to replenish their food stocks.
Satisfactory food security situation
The overall food situation is
satisfactory across the country. However, continued assistance is needed for
the most vulnerable population. According to the March 2019 “Cadre Harmonisé”
analysis, about 2 500 people (out of 1.07 million) are estimated to be in need
of food assistance up to August 2019, with a decrease from 5 000 food insecure
in June-August 2018.
Disclaimer: The designations
employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not
imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of FAO concerning
the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities,
or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
Domoguen: Rice
production, demand, marketing in PH still unsound
Mountain Light
August 5, 2019
ON THE second week of July, this
year, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that the price of
palay is P17.87.
In some areas, the price dropped to as low as P12.00.
With a mild El Nino in 2018, the growing conditions for rice in the months of September-December was still generally favorable throughout the country. The second crop was harvested from mid-January and completed in July this year.
With the signing of the Rice Tariffication Law (Republic Act 11203) by President Rodrigo Duterte, the forecast for cereal imports in 2019/20 marketing year (July/June) was seen rising at a high level.
The rice tariffication law has lifted quantitative restrictions on rice importation and allowed private traders to import the commodity from abroad.
The law replaced the government’s quantitative restrictions on importation of the staple with a 35 percent tariff. Its implementation is intended in part to spur imports in order to quell domestic unrest caused by inflation.
Without quantitative restrictions, the USDA projected the country will be importing three million metric tons (MMT) of rice this year.
The agency noted sees higher imports of rice despite a significant increase in local output as domestic consumption remains to be in an upward trend. Production of milled-rice is seen rising by two percent to 12.2 million MT. Rice consumption is also projected to hit 14.45 million MT from 13.9 million MT.
The USDA said there is an improvement in area planted as rice areas are seen to reach 4.85 million hectares this year or one percent higher than a year ago.
Yield is also expected to improve to 3.99 MT per hectare per harvest from the earlier 3.96 MT.
While things are turning out slightly in favor of consumers, things have gone for the worse for the farmers.
Since the implementation of the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) on March 5, the Department of Finance (DOF), citing preliminary data from the Bureau of Customs reported that the private sector has imported 1.43 MMT of rice.
The price of rice has been steadily decreasing since September last year and Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol warned that the Philippines would have a rice problem if it relied on imports to meet its requirements for the staple.
For one, relying on imports at this time could discourage our farmers from producing the staple in the country’s remaining rice farms.
As of this writing, we can assume that the majority of our farmers are not ready and empowered to take on the challenges of a liberalized global market.
What the previous regimes and administrations failed to resolve is left for the current administration to overcome including the country’s free trade agreements and commitments.
For instance, one primary objective of agrarian reform during Martial Law, later dispersed into the functions of the Land Bank, Cooperative Development Authority (CDA), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Science and Technology, and local government units (LGUs) is to organize farmers into cooperatives so they can take charge of the production and marketing of their produce. Today, these functions remain in the hands of traders. They can manipulate prices at the expense of both farmers and consumers.
With the RTL in effect, farmers fear that the local market will be flooded with cheap commodities like rice from other countries.
This is bad because our farmers (the majority are smallholders) are not empowered to compete with the realities of a free trade regime. Their meager incomes are yet imperiled with reductions.
With the current rice stock we have in the country (harvest plus imports) one wonders how many tons are hoarded somewhere and what are its effects once it is downloaded because you cannot store rice too long due to pests, deterioration, and storage costs.
I wonder if our lawmakers like Senator Villar and the Makabayan Bloc, had this in mind when they proposed at the height of the limited supply of rice and high prices in the market, to impose price control on the commodity.
But the University of the Philippines Diliman Ph.D. candidate JC Punongbayan thinks that price control is unsound.
Punongbayan, as reported by Rappler, declared that “imposing a price ceiling on rice in a time of rice supply constraints is a politically attractive but patently unsound idea. By preventing rice supply from meeting rice demand, it is a surefire way to exacerbate rice shortages nationwide and worsen the plight of our people, especially the poor. It also betrays the proponents' disturbing lack of understanding of basic economic principles.”
Now the RTL, a policy crafted by our lawmakers with Senator Villar as the main author is not working.
The measure created the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) or a special rice buffer fund, with an initial P10-billion annual fund, to ensure rice production competitiveness.
The RCEF program steering committee (PSC) is chaired by Secretary Piñol. The PSC includes the National Economic and Development Authority, Department of Finance, Land Bank of the Philippines, and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority as members.
In their meeting last month, Piñol told the RCEF committee members “that time is running out for the government to roll out the necessary interventions for farmers now reeling from the steep drop in the price of unhusked rice.”
“The situation could worsen if we don’t deliver our commitment. For now, there is so much unrest among farmers especially in Luzon so we cannot afford not to deliver [interventions],” according to Piñol.
Senator Villar has vowed to look into the disbursement of the P5 billion initially released by the DBM to the RCEF Program.
But noting the continued losses of rice farmers, Senator Francis Pangilinan asked the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food chaired by Villar to conduct an inquiry on the impact of the law (Republic Act 11203) as a whole on rice farmers and the local rice industry.
Meanwhile, in his 4th SONA, the President again urged Congress to pass the National Land Use Act (NLUA), a request that he has made since his first Sona in 2016.
Senator Villar, whose committee failed to pass the measure in the past Congress, said that passage of the land use act will earn ire of local governments.If we do not have an NLUA how will the LGUs be regulated from converting precious rice lands into subdivisions?
Without rice lands could food security and rice self-sufficiency be ensured and sustained? Selfish interests could be making rice production, sustainability and self-sufficiency unsound?
In some areas, the price dropped to as low as P12.00.
With a mild El Nino in 2018, the growing conditions for rice in the months of September-December was still generally favorable throughout the country. The second crop was harvested from mid-January and completed in July this year.
With the signing of the Rice Tariffication Law (Republic Act 11203) by President Rodrigo Duterte, the forecast for cereal imports in 2019/20 marketing year (July/June) was seen rising at a high level.
The rice tariffication law has lifted quantitative restrictions on rice importation and allowed private traders to import the commodity from abroad.
The law replaced the government’s quantitative restrictions on importation of the staple with a 35 percent tariff. Its implementation is intended in part to spur imports in order to quell domestic unrest caused by inflation.
Without quantitative restrictions, the USDA projected the country will be importing three million metric tons (MMT) of rice this year.
The agency noted sees higher imports of rice despite a significant increase in local output as domestic consumption remains to be in an upward trend. Production of milled-rice is seen rising by two percent to 12.2 million MT. Rice consumption is also projected to hit 14.45 million MT from 13.9 million MT.
The USDA said there is an improvement in area planted as rice areas are seen to reach 4.85 million hectares this year or one percent higher than a year ago.
Yield is also expected to improve to 3.99 MT per hectare per harvest from the earlier 3.96 MT.
While things are turning out slightly in favor of consumers, things have gone for the worse for the farmers.
Since the implementation of the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) on March 5, the Department of Finance (DOF), citing preliminary data from the Bureau of Customs reported that the private sector has imported 1.43 MMT of rice.
The price of rice has been steadily decreasing since September last year and Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol warned that the Philippines would have a rice problem if it relied on imports to meet its requirements for the staple.
For one, relying on imports at this time could discourage our farmers from producing the staple in the country’s remaining rice farms.
As of this writing, we can assume that the majority of our farmers are not ready and empowered to take on the challenges of a liberalized global market.
What the previous regimes and administrations failed to resolve is left for the current administration to overcome including the country’s free trade agreements and commitments.
For instance, one primary objective of agrarian reform during Martial Law, later dispersed into the functions of the Land Bank, Cooperative Development Authority (CDA), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Science and Technology, and local government units (LGUs) is to organize farmers into cooperatives so they can take charge of the production and marketing of their produce. Today, these functions remain in the hands of traders. They can manipulate prices at the expense of both farmers and consumers.
With the RTL in effect, farmers fear that the local market will be flooded with cheap commodities like rice from other countries.
This is bad because our farmers (the majority are smallholders) are not empowered to compete with the realities of a free trade regime. Their meager incomes are yet imperiled with reductions.
With the current rice stock we have in the country (harvest plus imports) one wonders how many tons are hoarded somewhere and what are its effects once it is downloaded because you cannot store rice too long due to pests, deterioration, and storage costs.
I wonder if our lawmakers like Senator Villar and the Makabayan Bloc, had this in mind when they proposed at the height of the limited supply of rice and high prices in the market, to impose price control on the commodity.
But the University of the Philippines Diliman Ph.D. candidate JC Punongbayan thinks that price control is unsound.
Punongbayan, as reported by Rappler, declared that “imposing a price ceiling on rice in a time of rice supply constraints is a politically attractive but patently unsound idea. By preventing rice supply from meeting rice demand, it is a surefire way to exacerbate rice shortages nationwide and worsen the plight of our people, especially the poor. It also betrays the proponents' disturbing lack of understanding of basic economic principles.”
Now the RTL, a policy crafted by our lawmakers with Senator Villar as the main author is not working.
The measure created the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) or a special rice buffer fund, with an initial P10-billion annual fund, to ensure rice production competitiveness.
The RCEF program steering committee (PSC) is chaired by Secretary Piñol. The PSC includes the National Economic and Development Authority, Department of Finance, Land Bank of the Philippines, and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority as members.
In their meeting last month, Piñol told the RCEF committee members “that time is running out for the government to roll out the necessary interventions for farmers now reeling from the steep drop in the price of unhusked rice.”
“The situation could worsen if we don’t deliver our commitment. For now, there is so much unrest among farmers especially in Luzon so we cannot afford not to deliver [interventions],” according to Piñol.
Senator Villar has vowed to look into the disbursement of the P5 billion initially released by the DBM to the RCEF Program.
But noting the continued losses of rice farmers, Senator Francis Pangilinan asked the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food chaired by Villar to conduct an inquiry on the impact of the law (Republic Act 11203) as a whole on rice farmers and the local rice industry.
Meanwhile, in his 4th SONA, the President again urged Congress to pass the National Land Use Act (NLUA), a request that he has made since his first Sona in 2016.
Senator Villar, whose committee failed to pass the measure in the past Congress, said that passage of the land use act will earn ire of local governments.If we do not have an NLUA how will the LGUs be regulated from converting precious rice lands into subdivisions?
Without rice lands could food security and rice self-sufficiency be ensured and sustained? Selfish interests could be making rice production, sustainability and self-sufficiency unsound?
KNCCI boss wants rice farmers protected from Pakistani imports
The chamber
president's views might reignite the early '20s sour trade relations between
Kenya and Pakistan
In Summary
• Kenya produces only a third of its annual rice demand and
imports the deficit mainly from Pakistan
• The Asian country remains the single largest buyer of Kenyan
tea
TRADE: KNCCI president
Richard Ngatia (C) with Kirinyaga county chapter chairman Peter Waweru (L) and
MCA Fredrick Bundi during the Kirinyaga Cultural Festival on Saturday
The Kenya National Chamber of
Commerce and Industry wants the threat of Pakistani rice imports to local
farmers addressed as a matter of priority.
KNCCI president Richard Ngatia
said on Saturday that the imported rice
was a concern for his organisation as rice was one of the country's major cash
crops.
Ngatia spoke during the Kirinyaga
Cultural Festival whose theme was Conserving Our Water Towers Through Culture.
He called for easier access to
agricultural inputs and the cushioning of farmers from external competition.
The KNCCI official said
unfavourable business conditions for both domestic and international markets
should be eliminated.
“To
ensure business competitiveness, I propose a provision of incentives on
agricultural inputs such as
fertiliser,” he said.
Ngatia further noted: “Low
incentives, underdeveloped agricultural value chains for less dominant cash
crops and exploitation of farmers by middlemen are major drawbacks to commercial
farming.”
The chamber president's views
might reignite the sour trade relations between Kenya and Pakistan of the early
'20s.
In 2010, the Kenya Revenue
Authority was forced to release a consignment of Pakistani rice it had
impounded over clearance procedures. The release averted a potential trade
tussle between the two countries.
The customs officials had
restricted rice imports and insisted that shipments would only be granted
access after the owners provided laboratory analysis reports on key aspects
such as grading.
Kenya produces only a third of
its annual rice demand. The bulk of the deficit comes from Pakistan, which has for many years remained the largest buyer of
Kenyan tea.
The Asian country bought tea
worth Sh3.5 billion in January this year.
Ngatia urged
traders to promote public participation in planning and budget making at the
county level.
He asked them to pursue inter- and intra- county trade for the
development of enterprises.
The KNCCI boss said his
organisation has been in partnership with county governments since the signing
of a memorandum of understanding with the Council of Governors in 2015. A
similar deal was entered into with the Kenya Investment Authority in 2016 to
facilitate trade and investment in counties.
The chamber intends to establish
a fund for small and medium enterprises development to support businesses
through credit facilities.