Group claims rice farmers lost P90B in 2020 due to low farmgate prices

Rice industry advocacy group Bantay Bigas claims that farmers of the staple crop lose billions of pesos due to decline in farmgate prices of palay (unhusked rice) amid continuous entry of rice imports.

In an interview on "Dobol B sa News TV" on Saturday, Bantay Bigas spokesperson Cathy Estavillo said, “Ngayong 2020, umabot na sa P90 billion ang pagkalugi ng industriya ng bigas.”

She said the income loss resulted from the drop in farmgate prices of palay from P20.27 per kilo in 2018 to P15.5 per kilo in 2020.

Bantay Bigas blamed the Rice Tariffication Law, which allowed unhampered rice importation as it removed most government controls on imports in order to enhance the competitiveness of the industry and make the staple more affordable and accessible.

Safety nets were included in the law, which was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte in February 2019, including a comprehensive assistance program for farmers worth P10 billion a year for the next six years.

However, Estavillo said the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, provided under the law, has not helped local farmers enough.

“Malinaw na hindi ito sagot sa napakataas na production cost ng pagsasaka ng palay sa bansa dahil hindi naman nito tinutugunan ‘yung pangunahing problema... ‘yung kawalan ng lupa ng mga magsasaka,” she said.

To address further decline, Estavillo urged the government to strengthen the local rice industry “para hindi na umasa sa importasyon.” —LBG, GMA News