Dar: Rice tariffication, best agriculture reform ever

URDANETA CITY , Philippines  – The Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) is the “best reform ever that happened in the history of the agriculture sector” in this country, Agriculture Secretary William Dar said yesterday.

Dar told local farmers at the Urdaneta Sports and Civic Center during the first anniversary of RTL implementation that Republic Act 11203 is the best ever reform dedicated to agriculture as the country needs rice that is available and affordable for all Filipinos.

He said the other objective of the law is to strengthen the farmers by making them competitive with their counterparts in other countries.

Dar said the tariff collected from imported rice goes back to the farmers through the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), which is P10 billion a year for the next six years. From this amount, at least P5 billion is for mechanization, P3 billion for seed distribution, P1 billion for capital or credit program and P1 billion for extension services.

After a year of implementation of RTL, Dar claimed that consumers could now buy rice for as low as P27 a kilo.

He said the government would not stop working to further lower the price of rice in the market. The average price of well-milled rice now is P36.33.

“What is important today is rice is no longer contributory to the increase of inflation… Rice is now available and the inventory is good for the next 80 days, plus the harvest this month and in April which is sufficient for the next four to five months,” Dar added.

He noted that the country had an excess of P2.3 billion in last year’s P10-billion fund. From the excess amount, P1 billion will be used to help farmers who want to diversify the crops they are planting, while the other P1 billion will be used for crop insurance so that all those registered in the farmers’ registry will be automatically insured.

Under the RTL and other supporting programs of the government, rice farmers will be competitive globally by increasing their yield and lowering the cost of production, he added.

“At the end of the day, you will have a higher income because the government wants farmers to win,” Dar stressed.

Based on a study made by government experts, “the loss as a result of this law is only P8.2 billion but the consumers’ gain is P4.9 billion because of the lower rice price… So the net loss of rice farmers all over the country is not P68 billion as others are claiming but only P3.3 billion,” he said.

The government has extended help to farmers starting last year like the Expanded Survival and Recovery Assistance Program (SURE-Aid Program) worth P2.5 billion, followed by a still ongoing distribution of rice farmer financial assistance of P3 billion.

“You total it – P2.5 billion plus P3 billion is P5.5 billion – so the net gain is P2.2 billion. So there is no loss to farmers because the government now is giving assistance to them. And include also the P10 billion from the RCEF budget which means a gain of P12 billion as help for farmers,” Dar said.

Sen. Cynthia Villar said that while the RTL is only up to 2024, she would legislate for its extension if it becomes successful.

She said funds for loans, inbred seeds, training for farmers came first while the money for mechanization was delayed because of the change of leadership in the DA that caused some problems in the documentation but the Special Allotment Release Order was released on Monday.

Without machine, she pointed out, the labor cost is at P4.60 per kilo for rice, which will be reduced to only P1.20 with a machine, or a difference of P3.40.

“If we get that P3.40, we become competitive with Vietnam because of the 35-percent tariff,” she said.

Villar also said the RTL still has birth pains in its implementation but which would be overcome in two to three years.