ASEAN integration seen to boost markets for Philippines organic rice produce

Prospects appear bright for the country’s organically-grown products with the integration by next year of the 10 member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Leo Cañeda, coordinator of the Department of Agriculture (DA)-led National Organic Agriculture Board, said producers of organic farm products could tap key cities or areas within ASEAN as primary target for market expansion when the region’s economic integration eventually rolls out.

He said products like organic high-value vegetables and rice produced in Region 12 or the Soccsksargen Region could take the lead in the export expansion.

The region comprises the provinces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, North Cotabato and the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Tacurong, Kidapawan and Cotabato.

“There’s so much opportunities and advantages for our organic farmers in the ASEAN economic integration,” he said at the opening of the four-day 1st Soccsksargen Region Organic Agriculture Congress and Trade Fair here on Wednesday.


But Cañeda said organic farmers or producers should be prepared and equipped with the proper skills and knowledge so they can properly market their products in the ASEAN.

He specifically cited the proper quality standards and other related requirements for organic export products.

ASEAN created a special task force last year to lead the development and promotion of the region’s standards on organic agriculture.

The task force is specifically working on the crafting of a common standard agreeable to and recognized by the ASEAN member-states to facilitate the trading of organic products in the region.

Region 12 has around 50 hectares of palay areas that are mainly producing organic premium rice varieties for exports.

Last year, the area’s organic rice producers have started exporting black rice and other colored, long grained and aromatic rice varieties to the Middle East and Singapore.

DA Region 12 is currently working for the entry of locally-produced premium rice to major markets in Russia, Italy, United States and other parts of the Middle East.

Rice smuggling, WTO and Philippine law

At the hearing on rice smuggling at the Senate last Jan. 22, some senators stated that whether rice smuggling exists or not depends on whether we will follow Philippine Law or the World Trade Organization (WTO).
As we wait for the answer, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) declared that it would release the seized rice shipments because of injunctions from three courts in Davao, Batangas and Manila ordering it to do so.
These injunctions were based on a WTO document that states that Philippine rice import restrictions expired on June 30, 2012. Therefore, all rice shipped to the Philippines after this date do not need import permits and, consequently, are not smuggled.
We will argue here that this is a misguided understanding of WTO. There is no contradiction between our WTO commitment and Philippine law. I know this because of my background as former DTI and DA undersecretary, presidential flagship secretary under the Office of the President, and vice president for Asia of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
WTO
It is necessary to understand WTO. I will quote here direct statements from the WTO website (www.wto.org). WTO has given us the flexibility to extend this deadline. We have done so, and the import restrictions are now in effect. The 2,000 smuggled rice containers seized by BOC are therefore smuggled. This should not be released back to the smugglers, as what is happening today.
The website states: “WTO is a rules-based, member-driven organization—all decisions are made by the member-governments, and the rules are the outcome of negotiations among members.” There is a special section in WTO called the “Agreement on Agriculture.” It states that this agreement “allows some flexibility in the way commitments are implemented.” How is this done?
The topmost WTO decision-making body is the Ministerial Conference. This “can take decisions on all matters under any of the multilateral trade agreements.” As a private sector agricultural representative of the Philippine delegation to a previous WTO Ministerial Conference held in Hong Kong, I witnessed this firsthand. The most recent one occurred last December 2013 in Bali, Indonesia.
Bali Package
The Ministers “adopted the Bali Package, a series of decisions made at streamlining trade, allowing developing countries more options for providing food security, boosting least developed countries’ trade, and helping development more generally.”
Following the WTO objectives of food security and development, the Philippines notified the WTO that it was extending rice import restrictions beyond the 2012 deadline. We exercised our negotiating flexibility to extend this to 2017. Our official negotiations are now going on. At the Bali Conference, this was recognized. There were no objections made.
Therefore, the import restrictions mandated by Philippine Law currently implemented by the BOC do not in any way contradict WTO. Perhaps, some misguided elements should consult the WTO website, which records the WTO Bali Ministerial Conference agreements to understand this better.
In addition, for us to lift rice import restrictions, a WTO member should bring this issue to WTO Dispute Settlement, secure a decision against our stand, and wait until we amend our law to conform to this decision. Not even one of these three steps has occurred. It is therefore very clear that rice import restrictions in the Philippines fully recognized and accepted by WTO are in effect today. There is no contradiction between WTO and Philippine Law.
Since the three courts that ordered the injunctions may not be aware of this, they should attend immediately to the Solicitor General’s Motions for Reconsideration. The BOC should stop releasing these seized smuggled rice containers, which is making a mockery of the anti-smuggling drive. More importantly, this release that we are witnessing today loses government revenues, endangers our food security, damages the livelihood of three million rice farmers, and puts in reverse mode the inclusive growth strategy of our government.
Competence
“Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap.” Many rice farmers believe that much corruption has entered both the executive and legislative branches of the government. But in addition to fighting this corruption, the farmers contend that government should increase significantly its competence in dealing with issues such as rice smuggling.
Already, our farmer leaders have submitted documented charges to the Supreme Court and the Ombudsman to protest this travesty of justice shown by the release of smuggled rice shipments back to the smugglers. With increased government competence, it should no longer be necessary for poor farmers to risk their safety and meager resources in fighting for what should have been given them if government competence were at the desired level.


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Philippines Government still undecided on rice imports

THE government will wait for the third crop of rice to be harvested before deciding whether it would import milled rice to beef up local stocks for 2013, it was learned on Wednesday.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala said the National Food Authority (NFA) council may not decide on rice imports this month.

“[The Philippines] does not need [a big volume] of rice. Hindi tayo nagmamadali [We are not in a hurry]. We will make an announcement [on rice imports] possibly [in late] January or early February,” Alcala said.

The agriculture chief said that many palay (unhusked-rice) farmers were encouraged to plant a third crop under the early-cropping scheme of the government.

Under this scheme, farmers were enjoined to plant a month earlier or by April for the wet cropping season in 2012. Harvest then started in August. The plan also called for a third cropping, which started in October.

The scheme also enjoined farmers to avoid the period when strong typhoons usually visit the country, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).

The Philippines gets 60 percent of its annual palay harvest from the main wet-season cropping; the rest, from the dry-season cropping.

Earlier, Alcala said the DA is not keen on importing rice this year after a record palay harvest was projected last year.

According to the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS), the Philippines will increase its palay output by 7.7 percent on year to 17.98 million metric tons (MMT) for 2012.

Unmilled-rice output in July to December 2012 is projected to increase by 10.7 percent on year to 10.08 MMT.

Last year the government authorized the importation of 500,000 metric tons (MT) of rice, the bulk of which—380,000 MT—was purchased by the private sector. The NFA bought the rest.

The government entered the international rice market in March.

The 120,000 MT of rice bought by the NFA augmented its stocks as per its mandate to have 30 days’ worth of stocks when the lean season for rice starts in July.

Philippines sets 2011 rice output goal at 17.4-M tons

The government has set a rice production goal of 17.4 million tons next year, nearly 9% higher than a revised target of 16 million tons in 2010, a senior official said on Monday. The Philippines, the world's biggest rice buyer, expects rice production to reach 19.2 million tons in 2012 before becoming self sufficient in its staple in 2013, Dennis Araullo, a grains program director at the Agriculture department, told reporters. Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala, meanwhile, said rice purchases for 2011 will not be more than half of the record imports of 2.45 million tons last year. For the first 9 months, domestic production of unmilled rice fell 15% from a year ago.

Philippines May Import Rice in Early 2011

The Philippines, the world’s biggest rice importer, may hold tenders for the grain in the first quarter of 2011, Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said in a press briefing today. The Southeast Asian nation, which imported a record 2.47 million metric tons for this year, cut its rice production forecast this year to 16.02 million tons from 16.24 million tons due to storms that damaged crops. It’s still reviewing the volume, mechanics and timing of rice imports, Alcala said.

Philippines Rice stocks up by more than a quarter

THE COUNTRY'S rice inventory at the start of October was up by 26.79% to 3.15 million metric tons (MT) from 2.49 million MT in the same period last year, data from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) showed.

Cambodia planning to sell rice to Philippines

Cambodia will send an informal trade delegation to the Philippines next month to secure deals for rice exports. The world’s biggest importer has announced that its rice production dropped more than 10 percent in the first six months compared with last year. Sun Kunthor, vice chairman of the Supreme National Economic Council, said the Cambodian delegation would seek to leverage the Philippines’ growing demand for the staple crop. “We will go to the Philippines soon, and we hope the Philippines will buy rice from Cambodia because the country’s rice demand is big,” he said. Sun Kunthor was among those involved in drafting the Kingdom’s new policies aimed at boosting rice production and exports. Philippine production of the food staple has fallen 10.2 percent in the first half of the year, compared with a year earlier, Manila announced Tuesday. Officials from the archipelago said dry weather caused by El Niño resulted in parched crops, and may require imports to make up for the fall in production. The Philippines is considering plans to boost imports, which have already hit a record 2.47 million metric tonnes this year. A formal decision would be made by Friday next week, said Philippines Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala. Production is expected to decrease further. Bureau of Agricultural Statistics Director Romeo Recide said Tuesday that output may fall another 25.6 percent in the third quarter, a dramatic increase from the 3.7 percent slump forecast in May. However, he said that production could rebound by 30.3 percent in the last three months of the year. Prime Minister Hun Sen highlighted Cambodia’s plan to increasingly tap the Philippine market when he unveiled the Kingdom’s new rice policy earlier this week. Government advisor in charge of trade promotion Sok Siphana will lead a delegation to the Philippines for “informal negotiations”, with the intent to later enter into formal discussion over shipments, he said Tuesday. “The government is adopting policies to turn to overseas markets in order to boost rice exports because in the future, rice exports may become a key sector for the leapfrogging of Cambodia’s economic growth,” Hun Sen said Tuesday. A source close to the prime minister, who asked not to be named, said the plan included a trade delegation expected to visit the Philippines next month. The prime minister said informal exploration of the Philippine rice market was necessary to better understand its needs. “We want to know what kind of rice the markets need so that we are able to provide them supply which meets their requirements,” he said. Last month, Philippine agribusiness investment officer Pablito Villegas who took part in his country’s first trade mission to Cambodia in July, told Philippine news outlet GMA News TV that domestic buyers were looking to purchase between 200,000 and 300,000 tonnes of Cambodian rice. According to the Kingdom’s new rice policy, the government is seeking to export at least 1 million tonnes of rice to international markets by 2015. The news also comes as rice exports from Pakistan, the world’s third-largest exporter, are expected to fall after extensive floods damaged crops in areas accounting for 90 percent of agricultural output. Pakistan was expected to export 3.8 million tonnes of rice this year, more than 10 percent of the estimated global shipments of 30.4 million tonnes, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, which made the forecast in July, before the flooding. Sok Siphana could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Importation needed to solve Philippines' rice shortage

The Department of Agriculture said yesterday it is bent on importing rice to solve a shortage despite President Benigno Simeon Aquino III’s order to stop it, a report of the Philippine News Agency said. “We need to import rice badly because the grain output slid by 10.24 percent for the first semester,” Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala told reporters at the DA Central Office in Quezon City. Alcala said he is worried because if the wet cropping season does not produce much of the staple, the country may have a shortage and need new importations. The DA chief said the harvest was down to 6.62 million metric tons (MTs), down by 750,000 MTs from the output of 7.37 million MTs for the first semester of 2009. He admitted that unless the weather becomes kinder and if the intervention measures set in motion by the DA will not suffice, the country will have to import rice anew. However, he stressed the volume would not be in the vicinity of the 2.45 million MTs imported by the previous administration. The Philippines did not import rice in 1991, 1992, and 1994 but foreign purchases escalated from 2001 onwards. Alcala stressed El Niño was the culprit and explained the prolonged dry season was bad for rice, which is dependent on adequate rainfall and irrigation water to increase yield.

Philippines may import rice this year

The government might have to import rice as the dry spell caused by the El Niño phenomenon reduced domestic rice production by about 10 percent in the first half of the year, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said Monday. Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said 6.6-million metric tons of rice were produced in the first half of 2010 compared to the 7.3-million MT produced in the same period last year. The country may have to import rice this year due to the dismal rice output, he said. “We are studying this thoroughly, maybe the output of the first semester of 2011 will cover the decline. Within the next 10 days, we will make a decision on whether we need to import,” Alcala said in a press briefing Monday. According to DA officials, the drought delayed the planting of rice in the provinces, which led to the production slump. With the losses in the first semester of 2010, Alcala said it would be impossible to reach the rice production target of 17.4-million MT for this year. “For sure, we won’t be able to meet (it),” he said. But should the DA call for rice imports, it would have to be just half of the 2010 imports, Alcala said. “The projection is that by 2013, we will be sufficient. We might still import in 2011 and 2012, but it won’t be as much as in 2010,” he said. The Philippines—already the world’s top rice importer, has bought as much as 2.47-million MT of the commodity to fill its requirements for 2010. The importation of rice by the Arroyo administration in the past few years was criticized recently by some Aquino government officials who said it was a scam and a source of corruption. Much of the imported rice has been found undistributed in National Food Authority (NFA) warehouses. To address the glut in imported rice, NFA chief Lito Banayo said early this month the country would not issue tenders for the rest of the year. According to DA statistics, total agricultural production contracted by 2.59 percent, a disappointing result compared to 2009’s 1.49-percent growth. Of the four agricultural sectors—the other three are livestock, poultry and fisheries—the DA said the crops sector suffered the steepest decline at 6.72 percent. In its semester report, the DA said palay production was down by 10.24 percent, while corn declined by 24.59 percent.

Philippines' 11 of 16 regions to register palay-production cuts in Q2

OF the 16 major rice-producing areas in the Philippines, 11 regions will suffer production cuts in the second quarter of the year, according to the survey conducted by the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS). In its May round of “Rice and Corn Situation Outlook,” the attached agency of the Department of Agriculture (DA) noted that Western Visayas will suffer the biggest decline in paddy -rice production at 60 percent to 75,225 metric tons (MT). The BAS noted that the second-biggest production decline will be posted by Calabarzon at 37 percent to 75,746 MT. Of the 11 regions that will register slashes in production, the Zamboanga Peninsula will suffer the least as paddy-rice production could go down by only 4.7 percent year-on-year to 54,510 MT. “Insufficient water supply from irrigation and rains due to El Niño resulted in unrealized planting intentions,” said the BAS in its report. For the April-to-June period, the BAS forecasted a contraction in area harvested by 6.2 percent and a drop in yield by 3.4 percent year-on-year. Other regions that will suffer paddy-rice production declines during the period include the Cordillera Autonomous Region, Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Central Visayas and Soccsksargen. The agency noted that palay production for April to June could decline by 9.4 percent year-on-year to 3.11 million metric tons (MMT). For January to September, paddy-rice production is expected to contract by almost 1 MMT to 9.999 MMT from 10.89 MMT registered in the same period last year. Meanwhile, the BAS projected that 12 out of 16 corn-producing regions in the country will also post production declines during the period. Cagayan Valley, one of the major sources of corn in the Philippines, is expected to cut back production by almost 80 percent year-on-year to 70,950 MT. A year ago, the region produced 341,399 MT of corn. Another major source of corn, Soccsksargen is also projected to post a production decline of 42.7 percent year-on-year to 120,942 MT. Corn production for the entire Philippines during April to June will settle at 816,941 MT, lower by 36.83 percent year-on-year, according to the BAS. “Area harvested may contract from 455,000 hectares to 322,000 hectares due to unrealized planting intentions resulting from insufficient water supply. Yield is expected to drop from 2.84 MT per hectare last year to 2.54 MT per hectare this year,” said the BAS. For January to September, the country’s corn production is expected to go down by 17 percent year-on-year to 4.64 MMT. Production of yellow corn, the main ingredient used for animal feeds, is expected to contract by almost 24 percent to 2.96 MMT.

Rice stock rises by nearly a fourth, but corn drops

DESPITE a prolonged dry spell that cut palay production by 11% in the first quarter, the country’s rice inventory at the start of May was up by 24% from a year earlier, data from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) show. However, corn stock dropped 16% as of May 1 from the same period last year, the same data showed. Rice inventory increased to 3.32 million metric tons (MT) last May 1 from 2.68 million MT, year on year. The inventory was also 20% more than the 2.77 million MT at the start of April, the data show. Of the 3.32 million MT, 33% was in households, 14% in commercial warehouses and 53% in depositories of the National Food Authority (NFA). When compared with inventory from the previous year, household inventory was down by 6.4% while commercial warehouse stock was up by 3.6%. Meanwhile, NFA stock, of which 83% were imported rice, increased by 65% to 1.756 million MT from 1.063 million MT last year, according to the data. The May 1 inventory was estimated to be enough to supply the country’s daily needs of 36,300 MT for 93 days, the data show. "The bulk of the rice stock is due to the rice imports last year that have already arrived," NFA spokesman Rex C. Estoperez said in a telephone interview yesterday. The Philippines has ordered 2.45 million MT of rice this year, 2.25 million MT of which was bought by the government and are being shipped in tranches until this month, and the remainder is being brought in by private firms until Sept. 15. "We have a very good inventory of rice. We are ready for the lean months that is expected to start in July [and end in September]," said Mr. Estoperez. Palay production decreased by 11% to 3.49 million MT for the first quarter of 2010 from 3.94 million MT in the same period last year. The Department of Agriculture projected further decrease of 9% in second-quarter production to 3.11 million MT from 3.43 million MT last year, according to the department’s first-quarter report released last May 17. Palay production in the third quarter is seen to decrease by 4% to 3.39 million MT from 3.52 million MT from last year. Meanwhile, corn inventory as of May 1 went down by 16% to 195,000 MT from 232,000 MT in the same period last year. Corn inventory was also lower by 19% from April’s stock of 240,000 MT. Twenty-three percent of corn stock was held by households, 56% by commercial warehouses and 21% in NFA warehouses. BAS data showed a 43% decrease in corn stock in households and a 29% decrease in stock in commercial warehouses, year on year. There were no recorded corn stock in NFA warehouses in May last year. Corn production dropped by 16.8% to 1.6 million MT in the first quarter of 2010 from 1.92 million MT last year due to El Niño. Production was projected to decrease in the second quarter by 37% to 820,000 MT from 1.3 million MT for the same period last year, according to the Agriculture department’s first-quarter report. Moreover, the department projects a 6% decrease in corn production for the third quarter to 2.22 million MT from 2.37 million MT last year.

Rice Losses in Philippines Bigger Than Estimated

Rice production in the Philippines may decline by a more-than-estimated 902,000 metric tons in the first nine months of the year, widening a production deficit in the world’s biggest importer. Output through September will drop 8.3 percent to 9.994 million tons, down from 10.896 million tons a year earlier, as dry weather caused by El Nino parched crops, the Department of Agriculture said today. That compares with the 800,000 tons in losses forecast by the government in a worst-case scenario in February. Higher losses will curb supply in the Philippines after sales from state stockpiles rose to a record 626,254 tons in the first four months of the year as politicians bought unsubsidized grain to distribute to voters during campaigning for the May 10 elections, according to National Food Authority data. Lower supply and a larger-than-expected decline in output may prompt the government to return to the global market to replenish stockpiles, potentially pushing prices higher. The state-owned National Food Authority and private importers bought a combined record 2.45 million tons of rice for this year’s supply, helping drive prices in Chicago to last year’s high of $16.27 per 100 pounds in December. The Philippines lost 1.38 million tons of its September-December rice harvest to storms. ‘Running Low’ National Food may return to the import market in September to buy between 150,000 tons to 200,000 tons to rebuild stockpiles after a firmer assessment of the September-December harvest has been made, Rakesh Singh, a rice trader at New Delhi- based Emmsons International Ltd., said by phone today. “If they feel they are running low on stocks, they may enter the market in small quantities,” Singh said. Rough rice for July delivery dropped 1.1 percent to $11.68 per 100 pounds in Chicago at 11:40 a.m. in Singapore. The most- active contract has slumped 22 percent this year. “The dry spell caused by El Nino pulled down the area harvested and yields in the major producing regions of Cagayan Valley, Western Visayas, Northern Mindanao and Soccsksargen,” the government said in a statement today. The nation’s corn output will likely decline 17 percent to 4.642 million metric tons in the first nine months of the year, from 5.591 million tons a year earlier, the government said.

Philippines to stop Rice purchase for 2009-2010

The government may have completed rice imports for 2010 and its next purchases would likely be for 2011’s needs, given healthy stockpiles and a relatively moderate impact of dry weather on crops, a government official said on Monday. Manila, the world’s biggest rice buyer, has ordered a record 2.45 million tons of rice imports for this year. Shipments of 2.25 million tons are due to be completed by June and the remainder would be brought in by private firms up to Sept. 15. "NFA has no more plans to import for 2010," Rex Estoperez, spokesman for state grain agency National Food Authority (NFA), told Reuters. "We might import but that would already be in preparation for 2011. NFA has enough stocks in its warehouses," he said. Estoperez could not say when Manila would resume imports. The country normally begins buying rice in the final quarter of a year to meet the next year’s requirements.

Philippines Government says yield is up, but 'where's the rice?'

Frisco M. Malabanan, national coordinator of the GMA (Ginintuang Masaganang Ani) Rice Program, says rice production has been rising since President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo took office in 2001.

This is supported by data from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) that indicate a steady increase in palay production—from 12.95 metric tons per hectare in 2001 to 16.24 MT per hectare in 2007.

The assessment of Estrelita Mariano, spokesperson for the rice price watch group Bantay Bigas, is quite the opposite.

Mariano, who served as secretary general of Amihan National Federation of Peasant Women in the 1990s, believes that the government projects a totally different picture of the agricultural situation.

"Government assistance to farmers is hardly noticeable, and whatever program that Gloria talks about is mainly for show and does very little to help the Filipino farmer," she says.

Ms Arroyo announced in 2001 at the onset of her term her plans to develop the agriculture sector to provide a million jobs.

"We will approach this with a sense of urgency," she said in her 2001 State of the Nation Address. "I do not want the one million new jobs to come in the long term. I want a timetable. I want to identify accountabilities. I want milestones," Arroyo said. "Cheap rice and productive farmers—these are our goals for the people."

Romeo Royandoyan, executive director of the Philippine Center for Rural Development Studies (Centro Saka), says the Arroyo administration has failed to meet its targets, blaming this on its lack of sincerity to promote self-sufficiency.

"A policy conflict exists when the government encourages massive land-use conversion and increased rice production, farmer self-reliance and dependence on foreign-provided hybrid seeds. This only benefits the big shots, the multinational corporations, and is detrimental to ordinary farmers," he says.

In April 2008, the country was engulfed in a global food shortage that sparked tensions in over 30 countries and threatened to drive more than 100 million people in the developing world deeper into poverty.

Causes of shortfall

The shortfall was blamed on climate change, booming population, new-found affluence that has put more food on the table in China and India, conversion of grains into biofuels, natural disasters in the United States, Australia and Bangladesh, and export restrictions by rice producers.

To ease the crisis, the Philippines went on a massive rice importation drive, selling the commodity at subsidized prices.

That same year, the Department of Agriculture launched its FIELDS program at the National Food Summit, focusing on the six most significant points of the agriculture sector: Fertilizer, irrigation, extension and education services, loans, dryers and post-harvest facilities, and seeds.

Part of the FIELDS program entailed a self-sufficiency goal to be attained this year.

However, when it appeared it could not be met, the target was moved to 2013, making it a burden of the next administration to tackle the long-running issue of food security.

Drop in fertilizer supply

One major problem was fertilizer supply.

According to the BAS, there was a drop in fertilizer supply disposition in 2008 that coincided with the Senate investigation of Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn "Joc-joc" Bolante in connection with the P728-million fertilizer scam.

Underscoring a major failure in the program to achieve self-sufficiency, the Senate inquiry revealed that the fertilizer funds—distributed to Ms Arroyo's political allies during the harvest season—were essentially used to buy votes in the 2004 presidential elections.

The fertilizers were secured at an overprice of 682 percent, or by P128 million, according to the Commission on Audit.

The development of the agricultural sector has been identified by economists and academics as a key to mitigating poverty in this country.

A 2006 survey conducted by the National Statistical Coordination Board showed that more than 27 million Filipinos live below the poverty threshold, surviving on a dollar a day, according to a World Bank standard.

No longer self-sufficient

The problems in fertilizer are essentially tied to our loss in rice self-sufficiency, says Mariano.

"We are no longer self-sufficient nowadays because of a loss in traditional, regular seeds," she says.

Mariano says that the establishment of the International Rice Research Institute produced hybrid seed varieties that were expensive and required costly fertilizer.

"Increase in expenses forced farmers to borrow money, thus increasing their burden," she says.

For one, the government considers rice importation from Asian neighbors such as Vietnam and Thailand a necessary step in achieving food security, as high a priority as achieving self-sufficiency.

This means that while the FIELDS program is being implemented, the Philippines will continue to import rice.

Imports not an issue

According to Milo de los Reyes, GMA Corn Program Secretariat, food security should not be an issue of importation versus self-sufficiency.

"It's all about management of supply and use. We have to make sure we are food-secured first by improving farmer productivity and increasing farmer's income. Then if necessary, we import," he says.

The government puts a prime emphasis on rice production as a measure of agricultural progress, he says. The higher the output rate, the better.

De los Reyes admits self-sufficiency may be a difficult goal to fully achieve because of the country's burgeoning population. "You can't manage or control resources if you have an increasing population every year," he says.

However, when asked if he thought the GMA Rice and Corn Programs, along with FIELDS, was a success, he unhesitatingly said, "Yes, it is."

Better than global average

Emerson Yago, science research specialist and spokesperson for the GMA Rice Program, points to the DA's positive production levels. They have been increasing over the years until 2009, he said, when Ondoy and Pepeng caused heavy damage to agricultural crops.

Yago says that annual agricultural growth was even higher than global figures, which meant that the country was even doing better than the global average.

According to the Philippine Rice Masterplan for 2009-2013, local annual growth from 2000 to 2008 was 3.07 percent, compared to global growth of 1.45 percent.

This doesn't necessarily mean much for the farmers like Marquez, who does not see improvements in his rice yields.

Cathy Estavillo, current Amihan secretary general, also weighs in on the government's glaring deficiencies in the agriculture sector.

Estavillo believes that above anything else, agricultural reform should encompass agrarian reform as well as the country's withdrawal from the World Trade Organization, in keeping with her rejection of agricultural economic liberalization.

"We understand the government's policies and programs are very good. But the government has done nothing to realize them. The question to ask is: How willing is the government to actually promote agricultural reform?" she says.

One meal a day

"Go to any province in the country and you will see what I mean. Families have barely enough to feed their children. Mothers feed their children porridge in the evening, the only meal of the day, and water for breakfast, because that's all they can afford to eat. It's very sad," she explains.

Royandoyan has spent years battling it out in agriculture hearings in Congress, trying to convince bureaucrats to reverse the government's market-oriented approach to agriculture.

He is especially concerned with the country's stubborn insistence on depending on the world's rice stock, which he explains is shockingly less than 7 percent.

"When another rice crisis looms, 5 to 6 percent of that figure will go to China's supply. What will the Filipinos eat then?"

Philippines paddy rice procurement slides due to El Niño

The government’s palay (unhusked rice) procurement as of the third week of March slid by almost a fifth from a year earlier amid an El Niño-induced drought. In a statement, the Agriculture department said the National Food Authority (NFA) bought 962,655 bags of palay — 489,114 bags in January, 339,543 bags in February and 133,998 bags by the third week of March. It is targeting to buy 696,900 bags this April, the peak of the summer harvest. NFA Administrator Jessup P. Navarro noted that with tight rice supply, its active buying had pushed competition among traders, benefiting farmers. The farm level price of paddy rice averages P16.82 per kilo — 75 centavos higher than a year earlier — or P37.50 per cavan of 50 kilograms. The NFA buys clean and dry paddy rice at P17.70 per kilo, inclusive of drying, transport and cooperative development incentives. These incentives bring the agency’s effective palay buying price to P885 per cavan. Navarro noted that aside from higher prices, farmers also can either immediately sell their produce or wait for the price to appreciate further. Farmers who planted their crop early were also spared from the ill effects of El Niño, producing clean and dry palay that they can sell higher with minimal expenses. The NFA is buying at a daily average rate of 8,960 bags. Southern Tagalog posted the highest volume of paddy rice bought with 458,570 bags, most of these coming from Occidental Mindoro totaling 223,270 bags. Procurement was also high in the Ilocos region at 167,893bags, mostly from La Union and Western Pangasinan. The Bicol region also posted high procurement volume at 151,133 bags mostly bought from Camarines Sur. The NFA bought 53,370 bags from Central Mindanao farmers, more than half of which came from Sultan Kudarat. The NFA is aiming to buy 11.7 million bags of palay this year.

No room for rice shortage, assures NFA

The National Food Authority (NFA) in Bukidnon today assures the public that there is no rice shortage in the market contrary to the rumored crunch of the staple food mainly due to the El Niño phenomenon. NFA Provincial Manager Victoria Duray said there is no room for rice shortage because as of today, almost 177,000 bags of rice are available in NFA warehouses. Based on the data released by the National Statistics Office (NSO), Bukidnon has a monthly rice consumption of about 155,000 bags. "That volume of NFA rice reserve therefore is more than enough to meet the need of the province in a month," Duray said. NFA Bukidnon Informarion Officer Maria Socorro Mellomida said the province now has 189 'Tindahan Natin' outlets and 111 'Bigasan ng Bayan' outlets. "The NFA rice is sold at P18.25 in 'Tindahan Natin' and P25 a kilo in 'Bigasan ng Bayan' outlets. These accredited NFA rice outlets are spread all over the province but as to the Tindahan Natin, it's the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) that decides where to put them since it is directed to address areas with high poverty rates," Mellomida said. At present, market retail price of premium well-milled rice is P36.50 a kilo while the cheapest varieties range from P29-P33 per kilogram, according to the data from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS)

Drought destroys P8.4b worth of crops

THE damage wrought by El Niño to crops amounted to P8.4 billion, Agriculture Secretary Bernie Fondevilla said Friday. Verified reports showed standing corn crops sustained most of the damage, he told reporters at the sidelines of the Agriculture Guarantee Fund Pool awarding rites at the Bureau of Soils and Water Management. The government could not yet say if the damage would go beyond P11 billion as reported earlier. “We'll see. Should the episode worsen, we can estimate the extent of the damage and determine if there will be a need to import additional rice,” he said. The government is monitoring 14 provinces greatly affected by the drought, including Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino in Northern Luzon, Bulacan and Nueva Ecija in Central Luzon, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Marinduque and Romblon in the Mimoropa area or Region IV-B, Masbate in Bicol, and Antique, Guimaras and Negros Occidental in Western Visayas. Still, the department has no numbers yet for the total size of farmlands affected by the drought as well as the volume of crops that were destroyed. Over 200,000 metric tons (MT) of paddy rice was destroyed, Fondevilla estimated. The department’s Central Action Center earlier placed the damage to crops at P11.2 billion, with damaged paddy rice nearing 300,000 MT. Despite the center’s numbers for rice crops, Fondevilla said the department is sticking to its projection that paddy rice output in the first half would total 7.2 million metric tons. Paddy rice production for the second quarter will reach 3.463 million MT or 0.8 percent higher than the 3.435 MMT produced in April to June 2009. In crop survey for January, the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics said that paddy rice output in the second quarter would grow with the 1.11-percent expansion of harvested areas. It projected a harvest in 868,000 hectares of irrigated and rain-fed farms in the country. “With the demand (for palay) expected at 3.03 MMT in the second quarter, the 3.463 MMT projection is more than enough to cover our national requirement for the period,” Agriculture Secretary Salvador Salacup said. This year the Philippines will import up to 2.4 MMT of milled rice, mostly from Vietnam, to fill a possible gap in production, cover the crops damaged by typhoons late last year and the current crops felled by the drought.

Philippines see rice production exceeding demand

UNMILLED rice production would reach 3.46 million tons in the second quarter, more than the projected demand of 3.3 million tons and should keep the grain’s prices stable, the Agriculture Department said Thursday. It said it also expected stable prices for chicken and fish, and that sugar prices should “soften” even with the drought brought by El Niño. Government attempts to induce rain have mostly failed, but the Soils Bureau said Thursday it was optimistic its cloud-seeding would help ease El Niño’s effects on crops. “We are duty-bound to implement this program as long as there are requests for cloud-seeding,” said Lilian Naga, head of the agency’s water division. About 221 cloud-seeding sorties had been conducted nationwide as of March 11, but most of them had failed, Naga said. “In fact, in our assessment about 20 percent or even less had been successful,” she said. “We’ve been the target of many criticisms as to why we continue to implement this program despite its apparent futility. We put our lives on the line because we have a directive to implement the program.” An agency team usually does a sortie once it decides there are enough clouds to be seeded. It carries 11 25-kilogram bags of salt and seeds for an hour and a half per sortie, and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. A sortie costs P22,400 per hour, including the Cessna plane’s rental, but “most of the time the salt seeded on the clouds melts due to extreme heat,” Naga said.

Standard Chartered Bank sees rice prices may soften on better harvests, slowing demand

Rice prices are likely to soften in view of improving global harvests and slowing demand, especially with significant imports by India, to overcome the production fall in the kharif season, being ruled out. A Commodity Outlook by Standard and Chartered Bank said the prospects of large rice import bill have receded. It also cut the expected average price for Thailand B grade 100 per cent rice this season to $544 a tonne from $593. “Overall, the sentiment has been adversely affected by the likelihood of burgeoning global grain stocks, which will make it difficult for the market to recover from current subdued levels,” the bank cited as reason for the downgrade in its outlook. CBOT rice Pointing out that rough rice prices on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) had declined 20 per cent this year after rising to a 16-month high in December, the bank said during the same period, physical price of Thai rice dropped 10 per cent. “The decline in both CBOT and physical rice prices has been triggered primarily by increased supply as the harvest in Asia and North America progresses, and the ample supply of substitute foodgrains, such as wheat. We believe that the previously expected large import bill from India will not materialise and that prices will remain under pressure over the coming months, it said. Rice prices had gained in November when India, the second-largest rice producer in the world, said it would import about two million tonnes (mt) of rice for the buffer stocks to overcome the anticipated production shortfall. The kharif rice crop was first hit by a prolonged dry period and then by untimely rains. This led to nearly 15 mt drop in the kharif production to 69.45 mt. Indian output The global market's panic intensified as importing nations such as the Philippines after India issued a tender to import 30,000 tonnes rice. The Philippines ring-fenced its imports and it lead to panic, pushing up the prices further. Rabi production estimates of over 15 mt rice production have cooled the market, though the shortfall remains. However, the net impact of the drop in Indian production on global output is less significant. The US Department of Agriculture estimates global rice production for 2009-10 at 440.3 mt, fractionally below last season's record 447 mt. This will be the second-highest global output on record. Indonesia scene Prospects in Indonesia that accounts for around 10 per cent of the global output have improved due to a weaker El Niño event improving irrigation reservoir levels. Better seed varieties in Indonesia have also helped improve yields, the bank said. Despite production fall in India, the global end-season stocks are unlikely to drop by over one per cent year-on-year. Moreover, the wheat output in India has been largely unaffected, with the production being estimated at around 82 mt. All these factors will only lead to a limited demand pressure on global grain stocks, the outlook said.

Philippines weighing options on protecting rice market under WTO

THE government is carefully weighing its options on protecting the Philippines’ rice market, as it could entail opening up the country’s market for other farm goods traded under the World Trade Organization (WTO). An official of the Department of Agriculture (DA) also disclosed that it would be up to the next administration to determine whether it would negotiate for the retention of the quantitative restriction (QR) on rice. “[The DA] will just make a recommendation but it will be up to the next administration whether it will go for the retention of the QR,” said the DA official who is privy on trade matters. So far, the official said the DA has not yet come up with a final recommendation regarding the possible extension of the QR on rice and that the matter is under “careful study.” The DA official also noted that another area of concern is the current Doha round of negotiations at the WTO. “We have to consider the Doha round of negotiations [because] of its impact on sequencing. We [need] to wait for the final outcome and see whether there will be cuts in the tariffs on rice,” the official said. While rice farmers were able to gain a temporary reprieve from the threat of the removal of the QR in 2004, the official noted that a number of concessions were given to member-countries of the WTO who signified their intention to negotiate the retention of the QR on rice. “[The Philippines] did not just allow the entry of rice from other trading partners; we also had to give them access to our wine market and milk market,” the official said. The QR has allowed the Philippines to limit the volume of rice that can be imported by the government every year, preventing a possible influx of cheap rice imports. In exchange for extending the QR until 2012, the Philippines agreed to increase its minimum access volume (MAV) for rice to 350,000 metric tons (MT) as a concession. The Philippines also reduced tariffs on rice to 40 percent, from 50 percent in 2007. MAV refers to the minimum volume of farm produce, which it will allow to enter into the Philippines at reduced tariffs. The Philippines filed its intention to extend the QR on rice in March 2004 as it was set to expire in June 2005. Extensive negotiations for it followed, with Manila holding discussions with nine countries that signified their intention to negotiate the request. Manila had to conduct bilateral negotiations with nine WTO members, namely, the United States, China, India, Argentina, Pakistan, Egypt, Canada, Australia and Thailand. The Philippines obtained formal approval from the WTO to extend the QR in December 2006. The government pushed for the extension of the QR, citing the need to prepare Filipino farmers for international trade and to achieve rice self-sufficiency. The Philippines had originally targeted to achieve rice self-sufficiency by 2010. The government was forced to move its target to 2013 due to the lack of funding, as well as the challenges posed by climate change.