DA: Rice self-sufficiency doesn't mean zero imports

Even if the Philippines were to achieve its goal of self-sufficiency in rice, international commitments still require the country to import rice from other countries, the Department of Agriculture said Thursday. “I have always clarified that once we achieve rice self-sufficiency by the end of 2013, we may not be able to do away with provisions of our international agreements that require us to allow rice from other countries to enter our borders, like those under the World Trade Organization and the Association of South East Asian Nations,” said Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala. Under the WTO, the country is bound to import 350,000 MT of rice as its minimum access volume (MAV). "The 187,000 MT we are importing this year is within our MAV, and is covered by a 40-percent in-quota tariff which is our quantitative restriction," said Alcala. He noted, though, that the government has been able to reduce its rice imports over the last few years, from a high of 2.4 million MT in 2010 to 860,000 MT in 2011 and 500,000 MT last year. “This means that our efforts towards self-sufficiency and reducing rice imports are gaining ground,” said Alcala. “Of course, all our targets would have to be dependent on weather conditions, especially since climate change is upon us and weather and climate play an indispensable role in rice farming.” The Agriculture chief added that self-sufficiency in a staple is defined as being able to meet the national volume requirement for that item, with a buffer stock to be used in times of need. “We are working to meet our per capita consumption of about 115 kilograms per person per year, given our population of about 99 million Filipinos,” he said. The government's rice production target this year is 20 million MT. — BM, GMA News