Good harvest, bad price. Farmers decry low buying price of their produce. Photo by Armand Galang
CABANATUAN CITY — On top of stopping smuggling and importation of agriculture products, more support that will cut production costs are of utmost importance to make agriculture profitable for Nueva Ecija farmers.
“Ano ang magiging katayuan naming mga magsasaka kung ika’y uupo bilang presidente?” Thus, Mario dela Cruz, farmer leader and chair of Bongabon Dairy Cooperative, asked any of the presidential candidates.
He mentioned the surging prices of farm inputs, particularly fertilizer which went up to around P2,500 from P900 a few years back, while prices of palay (unhusked rice) skidded to an average P14 a kilo last harvest season as among the nagging issues in their livelihood.
“Ano ang magiging kalagayan ng mga magsasaka pag ito’y nagpatuloy? ” Dela Cruz asked.
Bishop Sofronio Bancud of the Diocese of Cabanatuan has expressed dismay over the unabated smuggling of agricultural products which, he said, is the handiwork of “unscrupulous people.”
“Nakalulungkot na sa napakarami at napakalawak na mga pangyayaring nagdudulot ng walang katapusang kahirapan sa ating pamayanan ay nadadagdagan na naman ng bagong pagpapahirap dulot ng smuggling ng mga agricultural products, nakalulungkot at nakapanghihina ng loob ang mga ganitong walang katapusang gawain na mga sakim at ganid nating mga kababayan,” so was Bancud quoted by the Catholic Church-run Radio Veritas.
“Ang talagang kinakailangan natin ay ang totoo at masigasig na pagsasakatuparan ng mga batas na ito. Ngunit ang nakalulungkot at malaking problema natin ay ang mga inatasang magpatupad nito ay mas madalas na may kinikilingan. Once and for all, panagutin ang lahat ng mga sangkot sa smuggling na ito as well as the many other crimes that are perpetuated by those in power,” he added.
He particularly called on partylist groups who supposedly represent farmers, fisherfolks, merchants and other marginalized sectors to hear and act on the needs of their constituencies.
“Do they honestly and sincerely listen to the actual situation and experience of their constituents and not simply deal with issues only from their limited and self-directed perception?” the bishop asked.
RA 11203 also known as the Rice Tariffication Law provides for a minimum P10-billion rice enhancement competitiveness fund (RCEF) to empower farmers through provision of seeds, fertilizers and machineries. But its implementation has not fully embraced the majority of farmers.
Nueva Ecija 3rd District Rep. Ria Vergara who vowed to run after smuggling said she will work to make National Food Authority work better should she win a third term.
She would also seek a check on the Department of Agriculture’s rice program: “Parang bara-bara yung pagbigay ng mga tulong. Parang walang sinusundan na programa e six years lang itong P10-billion a year.”
Vergara also pushes for more employment opportunities, health and scholarship programs.
In Bongabon town, the municipal government acquired a P210-million grant from the World Bank for the establishment of its first cold storage facility under the DA’s rural development projects.
Mayor Allan Xystus Gamilla said the project was long overdue considering the series of losses their farmers have incurred from onion due to pests and unabated smuggling of bulbs.
But the facility can only accommodate some 120,000 bags of onions, approximately 15 percent of the town’s annual yield. Gamilla hopes though that more projects of this kind will come once this cold storage which ground breaking was held on April 7, 2022 becomes successful.
“Yung mga negosyante ay inaarkila kaagad ang mga cold storage,” Gamilla lamented saying this practice of private traders leaves farmers no option than to sell their produce at prices dictated by the traders themselves.
An agricultural and livestock trading post is being constructed under the LGU Bongabon to provide market to local farmers.
