Farmers frown on P5,000 grants from rice import tax

ANGELES CITY, Philippines — Farmers have thumbed down the P5,000 grant, sourced from the proceeds of taxes on imported rice under the Rice Liberalization Law, offered by the Department of Agriculture (DA) to 600,000 rice farmers.

The farmers instead want the law scrapped.

“We understand the nature of the cash grant program for farmers that the government wants to implement. However, agriculture officials and all those in the bureaucracy must do away with their ‘Pantawid’ mentality,” the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) said in a statement yesterday.

It added that farmers have forwarded concrete demands and proposed doable solutions during their “numerous protests and dialogues” at the DA national and regional offices.

“DA must stop pretending not to know the underlying cause of rice farmers’ woes – Republic Act 11203 (Rice Liberalization Law) which must be repealed,” the group claimed.

Danilo Ramos, KMP chairman, said the P5,000 one-time cash aid is not even enough to serve as economic relief.

“We are the nation’s major productive force… This will not uplift the farmers already devastated by the rice liberalization,” he stressed.

Agriculture Secretary William Dar has announced that the Cabinet decided to give cash grants to 600,000 farmers or an estimated 20 percent of the total number of rice farmers in the country. Eligible are farmers with one hectare of land included in the DA national registry. 

“We take pride in our work as tillers of the land. We may not have much wealth but we try very hard to keep our dignity intact by earning our keep and fighting for what we truly deserve,” Ramos said.

He added that “this very meager cash grant will not appease the growing discontent of farmers who are strongly demanding for the junking of the Rice Liberalization Law. It is an insult to farmers and their families who have incurred heavy losses due to the impact of rice import surge and rice liberalization.”