SINAG calls for P36-B gov’t subsidy to support palay farmgate prices

The Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) on Monday urged President Rodrigo Duterte to subsidize the farmgate price of palay (unhusked rice) at P4 per kilo, citing the “dire” situation of millions of rice farmers struggling with low prices.

In a letter addressed to Duterte, SINAG chairman Rosendo So said the price of newly harvested palay is pegged at P11 per kilogram for wet and P14 to P15 per kilogram for dry, far from the P18 to P19 price range “claimed” by Agriculture Secretary William Dar.

“The low prices of palay means that our farmers will not be able to recoup their farm expenses during this cropping period and may force them to stop planting palay for good,” said So.

Farmers’ computation showed that palay prices needed to be at P19 per kilogram for them to earn fair gains from their produce.

“We humbly request that you direct the Department of Agriculture (DA) to allot P36 billion that will be used to subsidize the farmgate price of palay at P4 per kilo… This way, we can help both our rice farmers and the local milling industry,” he said.

So added that the farmgate price of corn has also plummeted to P9 to P10 per kilo.

“Under the Magna Carta of Small Farmers, there should be an automatic price support below P13.25 per kilo farmgate for our corn farmers,” he stressed.

Fertilizers

SINAG also accused the DA of overpricing fertilizers by P150 per bag, adding that 80 percent of funds for the subsidy of fertilizer requirements have not been distributed.

“The negotiated bidding price was P995 per bag. At that time, fertilizer outlets in the market are only selling between P830 to P850 per bag only,” So said.

“In areas where the negotiated bidding was not conducted, farmers were advised to reimburse their fertilizer expenses from traders/outlets. This was not the expectations of our farmers under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act,” he added.

Hog, poultry industry

SINAG also said that the DA must be ordered to bring 30 percent of live pig stocks from Visayas and Mindanao to Luzon to balance stocks.

“Our poultry industry is also facing a problem on low farmgate prices of chicken meat because of importation. A number of poultry farms have stopped operations, and many others are just unloading their stocks,” So said.

Furthermore, four million heads of hogs were lost to the African Swine Fever, leading to a hike in the retail price of pork.

Fisheries

The group also opposed the DA plan to import galunggong (mackerel scad).

“There is no need to import galunggong as we have enough supply of local inland fishes that are cheaper than the P150 per kilo of galunggong,” So said.

SINAG also underscored that “agriculture-based industries are our prime sources of economic gains in the past years giving our country unprecedented growth.”

“With the crisis we are experiencing now, the agriculture sector might soon be a thing of the past as rice farmers and other agricultural producers are unable to produce, threatening our food security and loss of rural livelihoods in their millions,” So lamented.

Dar earlier pushed for a higher 2021 budget for the DA due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The World Bank has said that transforming the agriculture sector of the Philippines is key to speeding up the country’s recovery from COVID-19.

The agriculture sector posted a 0.5 percent growth during the second quarter of the year even amid the pandemic.  — DVM, GMA News