Rice – is it enough for everyone?

By Agnes Españo-Dimzon
Panay Rural Development Center, Inc. (PRDCI)

(2nd of three parts)

Of Iloilo's 43 towns, Mina and Pototan seem to be the only ones enjoying ample water supply because they are situated close to the diversion dams of the Suague National Irrigation System (NIS) and Jalaur NIS, respectively.

This situation led NFA's Mr. Lozada to comment: “I wonder why so many people insist on planting rice when everything seems to be against it?”

He acknowledged the country's climate and the absence of government support as major impediments to rice growing.

This was affirmed by a research staff at the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) who said that agriculture-related programs in the Provincial Development Plan are not being implemented because they get no funds from the provincial government.

“Why don't they spend the money on agricultural support services instead of pouring every cent on rice importation?” she lamented, while also hinting at “other priorities” the provincial government is preoccupied with.

At the DA RFU6 Agribusiness Division, young and idealistic agricultural technician Rhea Resol criticized the government's centralized and top-down approach in formulating and implementing programs in agriculture.

“We find it difficult to implement programs coming from the central office because most of the time, these are not adaptable to local conditions,” she said.

For example, the national hybrid rice program should be implemented only in adequately irrigated areas because hybrid rice demands a lot of water, she said.

Hybrid rice also needs a lot of capital. A sack or 50 kilos costs not less than P1,000 pesos and farmers cannot use as seeds the produce from their harvest. If they want to have higher production, they also have to use a lot of commercial fertilizers which are becoming more and more unaffordable. A sack of Urea -- a major source of nitrogen -- costs about P900 in Iloilo City, and higher in the interior towns. The amount is about P200 more expensive than two sacks of palay.

Lucky traders

Rice trader Clemente Abordo of Januiay town was quick to say that consumers and the small rice producers should be happy because the government imports rice.

“By letting out imported rice and subsidized local rice in the market, the government has managed to stabilize the price of rice at P1,250 per sack, P59 per ganta or P25 per kilo (for the super white kind) during the height of the lean season last August. No government subsidy would have meant traders jacking up prices to as high as P1,500 per sack.” He said it is the law of supply and demand that determines prices.

DA's Ms. Resol said people would always buy rice because they need to eat.

Added Mr. Abordo: “Consumers have the alternative to buy cheaper GMA rice at P18 per kilo from the NFA's Bigasang Bayan.” GMA rice is actually imported rice for which the government spends about P9.50 per kilo as landed price.

But majority of consumers, at least in Leganes town (15 kilometers north of the city), still prefer local rice even if it costs more because “it does not smell”. (To be continued)