Mangahas proposals have ‘antifarmer’ undertones

This is in reaction to Mahar Mangahas’s column titled “Maldistribution of rice” (Opinion, 3/22/14). It seems that his column is suggesting the “liberalization” of the Philippine rice industry by promoting “rice trade” in the context of “income and food security” rather than “self-sufficiency.” Mangahas delved into the possibility of removing the quantitative restriction on rice and opening a free market on imported rice instead.

Bantay Bigas finds Mangahas proposals antifarmer as they will benefit the big rice cartels only. We think that these proposals will only hamper the development and empowerment of poor farming communities.

If the rice quota is to be removed and the rice industry liberalized, rice imports will continue to flood our markets. This will cause our farmers massive economic loss, which will further worsen into loss of livelihood, hunger and poverty. This puts food security in question.

Food security can only be achieved when we shall have been able to rely on the local rice production and we shall have empowered the poor farming communities. President Aquino, in his second State of the Nation Address, declared that “ang pagkain ni Juan, dito sa Pinas itatanim at aanihin” (the food ordinary Filipinos eat should be planted and harvested here in the Philippines). However, this is a dream that has yet to be fully realized.

Some businessmen would claim that rice self-sufficiency would be expensive and impractical. We do not expect them to think otherwise as their first and foremost consideration is profits—profits for their pockets. And farming gets expensive because supplies of farm inputs and farm implements are dependent on local and foreign corporations like Monsanto and Bayer.  Unlike the rice industry of Thailand and Vietnam, the Philippine rice industry is not subsidized, therefore, our local farmers cannot compete with those of other countries.

A government who is genuinely committed to the plight of its people will heed their clamor for rice sufficiency achieved through a developed, empowered and independent local rice industry—a rice industry that  not only provides food for its people but will secure their livelihood as well.

But what do we expect from present Aquino administration?

Today, 90 percent of our farmers remain landless.

Farmers are the backbone of our country. Without them, the entire nation will starve. It’s ironic that even as they produce the food on our tables, they continue to starve for a fraction of government help and attention.

We ask the Aquino administration: Whom is its food self-sufficiency program meant to serve? Is it the farmers or food traders? Until it serves the former, the administration’s self-sufficiency program can only be a failure—as it is now.

—LITA MARIANO,

spokesperson, Bantay Bigas,

[email protected]