TODAY there are 10 million rice farmers in the Philippines. Extrapolating their number of dependents, they constitute a big portion of the over 100 million Filipinos today, and they are in trouble. Not much of their land can be reached by irrigation facilities and rain has not been heavy on lands depending on rain for water. On the…
MANILA, Philippines—The Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) on Tuesday urged the House of Representatives to investigate and suspend the implementation of Executive Order No. 135, which President Rodrigo Duterte issued to lower tariffs on rice imports from non-Asean countries. In a letter addressed to Congress, the FFF said reducing rice import tariffs was “totally unjustified.” The President’s EO temporarily…
Since the 1980s a consensus has grown that rent-seeking and restrictive trade and regulatory policies have hindered the Philippine rice sector. Filipino consumers were paying more for a kilogram of rice than any of their ASEAN neighbors, yet farmers in the Philippines remained the poorest sector in the country. There were various efforts by international donors, multilateral agencies, and local…
‘Some [farmers] express that they do not want to see their children following in their footsteps, because they do not want them to suffer the same fate’ Our country is no stranger to crisis. From natural calamities to social and political turbulence, the Philippines consistently ranks among the riskiest countries in the world. Last year, we were subjected…
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) intends to cut tariffs on imported pork and rice for the next 12 months to ease supply constraints and consumer prices. A document obtained by the Inquirer dated Jan. 28 showed that the Philippine Tariff Commission would hear the DA’s proposal on Feb. 4. The DA recommended reducing tariff rates…
An industry group has urged Congress to review the rice tariffication law (RTL) as palay prices continued to drop and are expected to worsen when harvests reach their peak this month and in November. According to the Federation of Free Farmers (FFF), the rice policy must make it mandatory for the Department of Agriculture to make use of the…
QUEZON CITY, Philippines – A total of 13 companies signified their interest to join the bidding to be set by the National Food Authority (NFA) for the 500,000 metric tons of rice imports. The NFA has allotted up to P12B fund for the importation and the rice supply is expected to be delivered in the months of December this…
RICE TALKS. Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol urges the support of rice traders in ensuring the availability of affordable rice supply in the market during the Food Security Summit held in Iloilo City on Monday (October 8, 2018). (Photo by Perla Lena) ILOILO CITY — The Grains Retailers Confederation of the Philippines, Inc. (GRECON) has “pledged their support” to bring down the price…
Sinabi ng grupong Grain Retailers Confederation of the Philippines (GRECON) nitong Martes na wala nang ibinebentang NFA rice sa mga merkado sa National Capital Region (NCR) at apat pang rehiyon sa bansa. Bukod sa NCR, naubos na rin ang suplay ng NFA rice sa Ilocos region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, at Calabarzon, ayon sa GRECON. Ayon kay GRECON…
NFA RICE: The samples of poor quality rice supplied by the National Food Authority in Central Visayas (NFA-7) to rice retailers that are now being sold at the Carbon Public Market in Cebu City. The photo is from Erwin Gok-ong, president of Grain Retailers Confederation of the Philippines (GreCon) Cebu City North District. RICE Retailers have complained about the…