Despite demands from the peasant sector for better support for local rice production since the enactment of the Rice Liberalization Law (RLL) in 2019, the national government has only continued to ease trade restrictions. 

Farmers groups, like the Amihan National Federation of Peasant Women, assail the RLL for worsening farming livelihoods, as they continue to struggle amid increasing costs of agricultural inputs and insufficient assistance. This is contrary to the law’s intent to improve local rice production. 

“Lahat ng solusyon [ng gobyerno] ay palliative measures. Pero ang mga magsasaka, kayang-kaya namang likhain ang ating pangangailangan sa pagkain kung andun yung political will ng gobyerno,” said Amihan Secretary-General and Bantay Bigas Spokesperson Cathy Estavillo in an interview with the Collegian.

Farmer Costs

The government has allowed importers more influence on rice consumption since the passage of RLL. As a result, the Philippines has cemented its position as the top global rice importer for two consecutive years, even signing on January 30 a five-year agreement with Vietnam for 2 million metric tons of rice annually. 

This has only weakened the country’s control over rice prices, as it remains more dependent on global trends, Estavillo said. Meanwhile, farmers’ livelihoods are continuously threatened by the lack of sufficient protective policies for local producers. 

Most farmers still work on rented and often inadequate land, while former President Rodrigo Duterte hastened land use conversion with an executive order. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has yet to overturn this.  

Programs under the RLL, on the other hand, like the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) do not equip local farmers to rival foreign prices, said peasant group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas on February 14.

The RCEF, funded by rice import tariffs, was created to aid farmers through mechanization and seed development initiatives, among others, but not cash subsidies.

Insufficient support can also be seen with the unirrigated 30 percent of the country’s rice farms, as recorded by the Philippine Rice Research Institute. Peasant groups stressed the consequence of water shortage amid El Niño as early as April 2023, yet irrigation projects are still slow to complete. 

“Hindi priority ng gobyerno ang ating industriya sa agrikultura. Makikita mo yan sa budget na nailalaan yearly, kaya hindi kataka-taka na number one rice importer ang bansa," said Estavillo. Agriculture and agrarian reform received only a combined 4.08 percent of the 2024 national budget.

Consumer Woes

The RLL has not only failed to address the prevailing woes that prevent farmers from maximizing rice production, but has also worsened problems that burden consumers.

UP Diliman security guard Kara, 35, wondered why she could no longer find cheaper rice sold by the National Food Authority (NFA) in local markets. Instead, she is forced to buy rice at P65 per kilo, so her family can at least enjoy quality rice with their meals.

Rice prices per kilo average at P50.36 for regular, P56.21 for well-milled, and P64.61 for special, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority in February, which is almost a quarter higher than last year.

The NFA, which buys unhusked rice from local farmers, lost its ability to sell milled rice in local markets after the RLL and now only stores buffer stocks of rice. 

"Sa totoo lang, mabigat [yung presyo ng bigas]. Mabibigla ka kasi sabi noong bago pa lang ang presidente natin na bababa ang presyo ng bigas, pero parang lalong nagmahal,” Kara said, stressing the burden of rising rice prices with measly increases on her P20,000 salary. 

With old problems left unaddressed and new ones made, peasant groups continue their call to junk the RLL in favor of more progressive proposals like the Rice Industry Development Bill to boost local rice production. 

This proposal seeks to boost farmer production by constructing agricultural infrastructure and post-harvest facilities and promoting new technologies, while setting a price support program for the purchase of unhusked rice. It also aims to develop a rice distribution system to better facilitate consumer prices.

“Igiit natin sa gobyerno na wag iasa ang ating pangangailangan sa pagkain sa pamamagitan ng pag-import, bagkus ay likhain natin ang pagkain natin dito sa bansa,” said Estavillo. ●

First published in the March 15, 2024 print edition of the Collegian.