The  Rice Tariffication  Law, Republic Act 11203, has  effectively kept rice  prices down for consumers by assuring  ample  supplies  in  the market. For years,  the  government,  through the National Food Authority  (NFA),   limited rice importations by requiring  importers  to get permits to import, so  as  to protect Filipino rice farmers from being  overwhelmed by the cheap rice imports.  When  prices started zooming up in 2018,   the government  sought to stop the unprecedented inflation by various means. As rice is the principal item in Filipino families’ marketing expenses,  the  government  rightly  decided  to  bring down rice prices and  the rest of market goods would  follow. With the Rice Tariffication Law,  importers  no longer need permits from  the NFA.  Any  one  can  now import  rice as long as he pays the required tariffs. Thus cheap rice has come in great quantities from Vietnam  and Thailand  whose farmers somehow  can  produce  it at much lower cost  than Filipino farmers. The  Rice Tariffication Law has indeed lowered the market  price  of rice, but it has also severely reduced  the income  of Filipino farmers. Where they used  to  earn an average of P20 per kilo of palay,  they got paid only P17.85  in the last week of June.  And yet, the farmers said, through the Federation of Free Farmers,  market prices have  been steady. They  suspect  price manipulation by rice traders, with  importers undervaluing their shipments so as  to pay  lower taxes. Secretary of Agriculture Emmanuel  Pinol  has  proposed to  remedy  the situation by having the government buy  the farmers’ harvests at competitive prices, even if it means losses for the government. This would be a short-term solution.  A  more  permanent  one would  be for the government to help Filipino farmers lower their production costs. This could be done by helping them in acquiring seeds of high-yielding rice varieties and in  purchasing  fertilizer and other needs, by increased mechanization of agriculture, by more irrigation facilities,  by providing more post-harvest facilities like storage and milling, and by helping them in marketing. For generations, many Filipino farmers depended on the help of their  landlords, but that is all past with land reform. Government must step  in  and  provide  that help that is no longer there and,   more important, launch  a program to modernize  Philippine agriculture in all its aspects, on all its levels, and in all its phases from land preparation to planting to marketing. The key to all this is funding. Outgoing  Secretary  Pinol  says this was  not available in sufficient amounts in the last three years, as the  government focused on infrastructure and other urgent needs. In  the  next  three years of the Duterte administration, it should give Philippine agriculture the attention that it truly deserves as the center of Philippine life and economy.