In the heat of this political campaign, our government will do a great disservice to our people if it ignores the impending 2017 rice crisis. As of today, there is still no clear roadmap with the necessary detail to address this issue.
In June 2017, any amount of rice can be freely imported into our country, provided a 35-percent tariff is paid. Considering the table I made from data provided by Omi Royandoyan, Food Staples Committee co-chair of the public-private Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries (PCAF), the danger looks obvious.
Item Philippines Vietnam
Yield (MT/ha/yr) 10.3 23.4
Cost (Php/kg) 11.50 6.10
Annual Interest (%) 24% 12%
Irrigation Fee (Php) 2,000-3,000 Free
We note that Vietnam’s yield is more than double ours. Their cost per kilogram is practically half of ours. If our tariff rate is 100 percent, we can compete with Vietnam. But at a 35-percent tariff which we are committed to, the rice industry and our rice farmers will suffer unless swift action is taken.
On March 13, at a DZMM show hosted by Louie Tabing, Dr. Candida Adalla said we could produce rice at P5/kg. Royandoyan agreed, but qualified the statement by saying this was possible only under strict experimental conditions on a very small scale.
The optimistic view is to bring down the P11.50 cost to P7-P8, as has been done in Nueva Ecija. This can be done in several parts of the country if we have a clear roadmap with corresponding support commitments and necessary budgets. So far, there is no such roadmap.
With very limited resources, we cannot compete with Vietnam’s rice in every province of the Philippines. A task force must be convened to formulate and implement this roadmap.
From the table above, we can identify measures to reduce our costs. One is placing our farmers on a level playing field with Vietnam by having lower interest rate and free irrigation.
Another is to provide our farmers with appropriate seeds. Most of our farmers use their own seeds, which yield 4.1 MT/hectare. If the government provides farmers with better seeds, their yields will increase to 5.3MT with certified seeds and 7.2MT with hybrid.
Cost efficient post-harvest facilities should be provided, as post-harvest losses amount to 16.5 percent.
Mechanization is also important. Labor amounts to 45 percent of total paddy production cost. Mechanization will reduce this cost significantly. For example, a mechanical rice planter will require only 3-5 man-days per hectare, instead of the current 20 man-days.
With this impending rice crisis, there is no roadmap on what measures should be taken, where these should happen, what costs would be incurred, where the money would come from, and which parties will be responsible for the different roles needed in effective implementation.
What we have today are studies and general findings with no corresponding detailed roadmap. This is because different units of our government are looking at this issue from different angles with a theoretical perspective.
It is now time to create a task force composed of players who can make us survive this impending crisis. It should include the Department of Agriculture, PCAF and PhilRice for overall direction; the Bureau of Plant Industry for seeds; the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization for mechanization; the National Irrigation Administration for water; the Agriculture Training Institute for training and extension; and the Landbank and Agriculture Credit and Policy Council for credit. Farmers and agribusiness leaders must take on a key role in the roadmap formulation and implementation.
This will not be easy. Certain areas must be identified to compete successfully with Vietnam rice. For other areas which will not be able to compete, alternative livelihood must be provided. This holds true for the farm labor displaced by mechanization.
The roadmap should have two parts: one for the rice industry and the other for the rice farmers. We also must not forget the people.
Many well-conceived projects fail because implementation suffers. When I was secretary for Presidential Flagship Programs and Projects, former President Ramos shared with us an idea that significantly helped implementation. Aside from Complete Staff Work (CSW), Ramos required each party to sign the final document to ensure that all parties agreed with the plan and were accountable for it.
With the requirement of every party signing a commitment to the integrated plan before submitting it for approval, the success of the joint undertaking was greatly enhanced.
This is what we must do now so that we will have an effective roadmap as we face the 2017 rice crisis.
The author is chair of Agriwatch, former Secretary for Presidential Flagship Programs and Projects, and former Undersecretary for Agriculture, Trade and Industry. For inquiries, e-mail agriwatch_phil@yahoo.com or telefax 8522112.