Members of the network Bantay Bigas staged another picket yesterday in front of the Department of Agriculture national office to protest the increase in the prices of rice, a press release from the group said.
The picket was its second rally in the past two weeks, it said.
Members who picketed in front of the DA did a noise barrage using empty plates and spoons to dramatize their demand for a rice price affordable to ordinary Filipinos, the press release said.
They vowed to continue holding protest actions in front of the DA until their demand is heard.
Lita Mariano, Bantay Bigas spokesperson asked, “Why rice is priced at around P30 when farmers say that they sold rice to traders for only P8 to P11.”
The rule of thumb by the National Food Authority is that rice is sold at the market for twice the price that farmers sell rice to traders. Thus, rice sold at P8 to P11 should only be sold for P16 to P22 at the market, the group claimed.
Bantay Bigas also belied Department of Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap's statement that there is a steady supply of rice, the press release said.
The press release also said that a study conducted by Bantay Bigas in Central Luzon found that farmers only earned P34 per day or below the poverty threshold of $2 or P100 per day.*
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