Marcos sees no rice crisis

But importation needed

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos is not expecting a rice crisis to hit the country during the lean months, but he remains open to importation to ensure enough supply of the staple.

The Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) recently warned of a possible rice shortage during the lean months from July to September, a problem that hounded the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte in 2018.

According to the FFF, that crisis had raised the price of regular rice to P45 per kilo and had forced people to line up to buy the staple.

During that time, the National Food Authority could still import rice, but the Rice Tariffication Act of 2019 stripped the NFA of that function.

The FFF called on the government to avert another rice crisis, saying hoarders might take advantage of it.

Speaking to reporters in Bulacan yesterday, Marcos said he does not expect another rice crisis, but admitted that the country’s buffer stock is low.

“No, I don’t (see a rice crisis). There is a chance that the supply would be reduced because of simultaneous events that will require it,” Marcos, also the agriculture secretary, said.

The President said the government is watching rice production levels before the harvest season as he expressed optimism that the Philippines would have enough rice supply and that prices would remain stable if “all things remain equal.”

“If we harvest, there would be no problem in the supply. It’s precisely as you mentioned. It is in the dry part where we are waiting for the last planting to be harvested. That’s what we are looking for,” Marcos said.

”We may have to import... We’re keeping that option open,” he added.

Low buffer

Marcos noted that weather disturbances like Typhoon Odette in 2021 and fertilizer-related issues could affect rice prices.

“The problem that we are facing now is because of the recent past. We had some bad luck when it comes to typhoons... We just came from a lockdown, pandemic, et cetera. The buffer stock of the NFA was used extensively,” he said.

The Chief Executive said the government wants the NFA buffer stock to last for nine days but the present level is only enough for one and a half days.

“It’s just enough for one typhoon... after two, three days, we won’t have anything to give,” he said.

“There is a law stating that the NFA has to buy from local producers. Now, if we buy during the harvest season... the prices of rice would increase. That’s our problem now. How will we do it? Where will we get the replenishment for the NFA (buffer stock)? Because something will happen somehow. Maybe the COVID (pandemic) will worsen again. Maybe there will be another typhoon,” he added.

Marcos said the government is continuously monitoring the prices of agricultural commodities as it wrestles with the buffer stock problem.

Importation

Earlier this month, Malacañang announced that the NFA was proposing the importation of 330,000 metric tons (MT) of rice due to the expected deficit in the country’s buffer stock this year.

The proposed buffer stock is equivalent to nine days of national consumption from July 2023 onwards. The proposal was meant to ensure a sufficient volume for calamity and relief requirements from July to December.

According to Malacañang, the NFA expects its buffer stocks to decrease to less than 500,000 sacks by July, which is equivalent to less than a day of public consumption.

Earlier this week, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said the NFA has dropped its plan to import 330,000 MT of rice, saying it is “not possible” due to the rice tariffication law.

But the law permits the private sector to freely import rice subject to a tariff.

DA Undersecretary for Policy, Planning and Regulations Mercedita Sombilla said the NFA could procure the rice from local sources.

This year’s total rice production is expected to reach 13 million metric tons (MMT) of rice or 20 MMT of palay, according to the DA’s projection.

Irrigation

In Bulacan, the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) has reduced this month the irrigation water allocation coming from Angat Dam as the palay dry cropping season is nearing its end.

Sevillo David Jr., NWRB executive director, said the water allocation for irrigated ricefields in Bulacan and nearby parts of Pampanga is now down to 30 cubic meter per second (CMS) for April.

At the start of the dry cropping season this year, the NWRB approved 40 CMS of irrigation water allocation to Bulacan and parts of Pampanga’s farmlands by diverting water from Angat Dam to Bustos Dam for irrigation distribution.

Francisco Clara of Bustos Dam said the total irrigated ricelands being served by the said dam in the two provinces account for a total of 23,698 hectares (ha).

As of yesterday, the remaining standing rice crops in Bustos Dam’s service areas were 5,938 ha, meaning a total of 17,760 ha of rice crops were already harvested, said Clara.

Modernization

Meanwhile, the Philippines hopes to modernize its agriculture sector under a three-year Korean official development assistance (ODA) program.

Under the program, ten local machinery manufacturers and fabricators were selected to participate in the Technology Advice and Solutions from Korea (TASK), the DA said in a statement yesterday.

The project will help upskill the beneficiaries through technical coaching and consultations and extend best practices knowledge.

TASK is jointly implemented by the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech), the Korea Association of Machinery Industry (KOAMI) and Korea Agricultural Machinery Industry Cooperative (KAMICO).

The beneficiary companies are set to visit South Korea to gain actual experience, such as resolving onsite technical difficulties of machineries and other farm facilities, and train under different manufacturing companies.

DA Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said the visit will also establish a strong network for the local manufacturers upon the completion of the TASK.

Earlier, De Mesa said capacitating the Philippine manufacturing industry in product development will help in meeting global standards.

The project is funded by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and the Korea Institute of Advance Technology (KIAT).

It targets to transfer Korean agriculture machinery technology to support resolution of technical difficulties and assist machine improvement, process improvement, prototyping support for Philippine local agricultural machinery and smart-farm related companies. – Ramon Efren Lazaro, Danessa Rivera