Mekong rice cartel a wake-up call for RP, says solon
Edmer F. Panesa
A move by five Mekong River nations to form a rice-ex****ting cartel
amid rising costs of the staple grain should serve as a "wake-up call
for the Philippines" to achieve rice self-sufficiency soonest, Palawan
Rep. Abraham Mitra, chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture,
said yesterday.
Mitra said that while the Philippines has no veto power over the plan
hatched by Thailand to band with Vietnam, Myanmar (formerly Burma),
Cambodia, and Laos in forming a rice-fixing cartel, it has "control
over our agricultural policy, and that is to start to be insular-
looking when it comes to rice and food security."
"We are entering an era in which the saying, =91No man is an island=92 can
be applied no more to rice. At least on this staple, we must strive to
grow all our needs," Mitra said.
The grouping of rice-ex****ting countries along the Mekong River would
be similar to the oil cartel, the Organization of Petroleum Ex****ting
Countries (OPEC), and would be called the Organization of Rice
Ex****ting Countries (OREC).
Mitra said it is about time the government abandons the policy of
using its land for more lucrative agricultural and non-agricultural
purposes and use the income to buy cheap rice abroad.
"What=92s the use of your money if no rice is available at any price
overseas?" he asked.
"It=92s like looking for water in the desert. You may be willing to
exchange a bar of gold for a cup of water, but it=92s totally worthless
if there=92s not a single drop around."
Mitra said the "initial rice price shocks" would lead the Philippines
to eventually overcome "supply gaps" in the staple. "Necessity is the
mother of rice production," he stressed.
He said one good thing that the OREC will probably bring is that it
will force the country to grow more food.
"If we have the resources to grow rice =96 fertile land, water, and
large tracts of underutilized land =96 then there is no reasonwe should
allow ourselves to be a hostage of any cartel," Mitra said. "To its
credit, the government is moving in that direction.
Funds are being released, agencies are mobilized. Once shunned as a
poor cousin of high-value crops like asparagus, rice is again the star
of the agriculture program," he said.
At the same time, however, Mitra allayed fears that the rice
production drive would lead to "monocropping" and the loss of the
"rich variety of Philippine agriculture."
"That is unfounded because if you bring irrigation to farms, it will
serve other crops. It will promote diversity. If you build a solar
dryer, it can also be used for corn, copra, black pepper. If you build
a road, it will not be exclusive for rice trucks alone," he said.
"The catch-up program for rice, in which we are making up for years of
neglect, will benefit agriculture across-the-board so that when rice
becomes abundant, the facilities such as irrigation, roads are already
there should some of our farmers ****ft to other crops," he said.
Intensify production, end dependence on im****ts =96 KMP
The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) and rice traders are agreed
that the only way for the country to avoid the price-fixing operations
of the newly organized Organization of Rice Ex****ting Countries (OREC)
is to intensify local rice production and end dependence on im****ts.
Rafael Mariano, KMP chairman and president of the A****pawis partylist,
stressed that millions of farmers nationwide have long criticized the
policy of the National Food Authority (NFA) of im****ting rice rather
than local procurement, since only one percent of the country=92s entire
production is bought by the food agency.
Mariano stressed that for years, KMP had been calling on the NFA to
raise the farmgate price of palay but it was only late last year that
the price was raised to P11 per kilo, months before the rice crisis
occurred.
He said that for the country to have sufficient buffer stock, the NFA
must secure 25 percent of palay production nationwide "and thus put
pressure on hoarders and other members of the local rice cartel" since
the production cycle is only 120 days and they cannot hold on to their
inventory for six months.
To obviate the crisis, Mariano said government could have set aside
P20 billion for the purchase of local rice but President Arroyo opted
to spend P60 billion for rice purchases in the world market, thus
pu****ng prices higher and higher.
Herculano Co, president of the Philippine Confederation of Grains
Associations (Philcongrains), said the country could have wriggled its
way out of the problem by providing modern post-harvest facilities
nationwide to reduce crop losses that range from 20 percent to 40
percent.
It was Co who also warned about the creation of a regional rice
cartel, which was organized yesterday by Thailand with Laos, Cambodia,
Myanmar, and Vietnam, which are collectively served by the waters of
the Mekong River. He warned about increases in the prices of
fertilizers and other farm inputs, which happened last week, pu****ng
further the production costs of rice farmers.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) places post-harvest losses at 8
percent, which the KMP says is a conservative estimate. Even as the
NFA increased its buying price, Malaca=F1ang liberalized rice
im****tation, prompting former Agriculture Secretary Leonardo
Montemayor to assail the policy as mistaken.
De Castro warns vs "hoarding mentality," urges generosity
Vice President Noli de Castro has warned against a "hoarding
mentality" in the face of serious threats to food security and
sufficiency and called for a revolution of generosity to combat the
spread of poverty.
De Castro made the remarks before leaders, cor****ate sup****ters, and
beneficiaries of the Gawad Kalinga (GK) project during the latter=92s
Harvest Festival in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon. The event marked the
anniversary of GK=92s food production program implemented in tandem with
its community-building activities.
"Hoarding is not only a violation of the laws of trade and commerce.
It is also contrary to the nature of the human spirit which is
supposed to be in the image and likeness of God. Hoarding is the
direct opposite of generosity," De Castro said.
GK is a social outreach of the Couples for Christ. De Castro noted
that the shelter and food production projects of GK have prospered
because of this spirit of generosity. GK=92s cor****ate and individual
sponsors and sup****ters have refused to hoard their resources and
opted to use these instead to benefit underprivileged Filipinos, De
Castro said.
De Castro lauded GK=92s multi-stakeholder approach, noting that the
strategy taps and mobilizes the spirit of generosity among sup****ters
and beneficiaries.
De Castro urged GK head Tony Meloto to continue focusing on the GK
mission and ignore the criticism against the organization and its
projects. "Our critics and detractors can do what they honestly think
they must do," De Castro told Meloto. "We must take the blows for the
sake of roofs over the heads and gardens with bountiful harvests for
underprivileged Filipinos."
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