Low palay price now worry rice farmers
AFTER LOW ONION PRICE
LINGAYEN—The anguish of Pangasinan farmers are from over.
After the huge losses suffered by onion farmers, now comes the projected huge losses as well for rice farmers after the buying price of palay dropped from P24 per kilogram last year to around P17-17.50 this month.
Oftociano Manalo, president of the Pangasinan and Region 1 irrigators associations, said in an interview that despite the bountiful harvest, the current low buying price of palay threatens the viability of farmers.
“’Yan ang problema namin kung paano makakaahon ang madlang Pilipino,” he said and cited the implementation of the ASEAN economic integration this year that could aggravate the situation for local farmers.
He added, “By 2017, wala nang pangundangan ang pagpasok ng agricultural products sa atin…papaano kami makaka-compete to other countries in regard sa production ng bigas?”
Manalo noted that the price drop may be due to the supposed 1.5 million metric tons of rice imported from Vietnam and Thailand authorized by the government in the middle of the harvest season in the country.
“Paano tayo magkakaroon ng self-sufficiency kung pinapaboran nila ng rice farmers of other countries,” he lamented.
He said the Filipino farmers can provide enough rice supply all year round if only the national government provides the needed support in infrastructure like irrigation.
Manalo said the P2.6-billion fund alone for the second phase of the re-regulating pond of the Agno River Integrated Irrigation Project (ARIIP), is still not released in spite of the approval of the completion of the ARIIP.
He said if the ARIIP is completed, the province alone can supply rice to at least 30% of the country’s population, leading to rice self-sufficiency.
The second phase will cover an additional 25,000 hectares of farmlands in the Pangasinan towns namely San Nicolas, Tayug, Natividad, San Quintin, Umingan, Sta. Maria, Balungao, Rosales, Alcala, Sto. Tomas and Bautista.
It will also serve as far as the town of Cuyapo in Nueva Ecija; and San Manuel, Moncada and Anao in Tarlac.
Meanwhile, Manalo disclosed the irrigators in the Philippines already asking the Department of Agriculture to provide water pumps to farmers in anticipation of El Niño. (Johanne Macob)
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