Rice tariffication law provides safeguards for local farmers – Cynthia Villar
Published Apr 11, 2019 10:23 pm
By Vanne Elaine Terrazola
Sen. Cynthia Villar on Thursday assured that there are enough safeguards for local farmers in the rice tariffication law (Republic Act 11203).
Senator Cynthia Villar
(SENATE OF THE PHILIPPINES / FACEBOOK / MANILA BULLETIN) Villar disputed anew claims by groups that the law allowing the unimpeded importation of rice will hurt the livelihood of local rice farmers over its supposed lack of provisions that will protect and provide them their needed agricultural support. The senator, who sponsored the measure in the Senate, reiterated her belief that the new law will benefit even the "small" rice farmers through the tariffs imposed on imported rice. " Tax from the imported rice will be given to the small farmers to make them competitive in the future as soon as possible," Villar said, referring to the P10-billion annual Rice Competitiveness and Enhancement Fund (RCEF). She also stressed that the National Food Authority (NFA), with its P7 billion allocation this year, was specifically instructed by the law to buy from local farmers its buffer stock which could also be sold at a low price. "Your job now is to buy rice from the farmers and sell it cheap to the consumers," Villar said in an interview with ANC. She said the NFA budget is a "working capital", which could yield "a lot of money" for the government. Despite expectations of cheaper rice prices, Villar also believed that affordable NFA rice would be able to compete with imported rice in markets. "They will be able to sell even without the rice tariffication," she said. Aside from the NFA, Villar said the Department of Social Welfare and Development could also be tapped to purchase from local farmers for its P28-billion rice subsidy program for conditional cash transfer beneficiaries. The government has recently released the implementing rules and regulations of the RA 11203. It reportedly spells out guidelines on the "enforcement of safeguard measures in case of emergency situations like the sudden rise and drops in domestic prices." But farmers groups claim rice farmers oppose the law, with some calling for its amendment or abolition.
Senator Cynthia Villar(SENATE OF THE PHILIPPINES / FACEBOOK / MANILA BULLETIN) Villar disputed anew claims by groups that the law allowing the unimpeded importation of rice will hurt the livelihood of local rice farmers over its supposed lack of provisions that will protect and provide them their needed agricultural support. The senator, who sponsored the measure in the Senate, reiterated her belief that the new law will benefit even the "small" rice farmers through the tariffs imposed on imported rice. " Tax from the imported rice will be given to the small farmers to make them competitive in the future as soon as possible," Villar said, referring to the P10-billion annual Rice Competitiveness and Enhancement Fund (RCEF). She also stressed that the National Food Authority (NFA), with its P7 billion allocation this year, was specifically instructed by the law to buy from local farmers its buffer stock which could also be sold at a low price. "Your job now is to buy rice from the farmers and sell it cheap to the consumers," Villar said in an interview with ANC. She said the NFA budget is a "working capital", which could yield "a lot of money" for the government. Despite expectations of cheaper rice prices, Villar also believed that affordable NFA rice would be able to compete with imported rice in markets. "They will be able to sell even without the rice tariffication," she said. Aside from the NFA, Villar said the Department of Social Welfare and Development could also be tapped to purchase from local farmers for its P28-billion rice subsidy program for conditional cash transfer beneficiaries. The government has recently released the implementing rules and regulations of the RA 11203. It reportedly spells out guidelines on the "enforcement of safeguard measures in case of emergency situations like the sudden rise and drops in domestic prices." But farmers groups claim rice farmers oppose the law, with some calling for its amendment or abolition.