Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 27) — A lawmaker has filed a bill which seeks to allocate an ₱8.4 billion emergency fund for rice farmers affected by plummeting palay prices.
Albay 2nd district Rep. Joey Salceda has filed House Bill 5669 which provides for an emergency fund that be given in the form of conditional cash transfer, amounting to ₱7,000 to each affected farmers. This will be a supplemental appropriation for the 2019 national budget.
“While the entry of a record volume of rice imports is a major cause of the decline in the buying price of palay, the high cost of palay production is very much a contributor to this income loss too,” said Salceda in his explanatory note.
The lawmaker also said that some of the reasons for the high cost of production are overdue farm modernization, high input costs, lack of post-harvest facilities, lack of access to affordable credit, and lack of training in coping with climate change.
“The Rice Tariffication Law is designed to utilize revenues derived from tariffs on rice imports to fund programs that will modernize rice farming and address other factors that make palay farming costly. However, these programs have gestation periods that go beyond a single cropping season,” said Salceda.
The measure prioritizes areas where palay prices have plunged below ₱17/kilo at the farmgate; areas where palay farmers cultivate lands two hectares and below; and major rice producing provinces.
Salceda noted that famers must be part of cooperatives to avail the cash transfer.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Department of Agriculture will be the implementing agencies.
READ: Farmers may incur losses of ₱140B by yearend due to rice imports, group says
