Farmers demand for El Niño funds, call for price control

About 50 Farmers and activists from Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP, Peasant Movement of the Philippines), Danggayan Dagiti Mannalon ti Cagayan Valley (Danggayan-CV), Pamalakaya-Pilipinas (fisherfolk), Amihan (peasant women), UMA (agri-workers) and Anakpawis Partylist protested in front of the Dept. of Agriculture (DA) in Quezon City to demand for the calamity funds to address the effects of the El Niño in Cagayan Valley and likewise called for price control on agricultural products as only traders would benefit from it.

Missing funds
“We are asking the DA where the budget of the Task Force El Niño led by Sec. Arthur Yap went as our farmer-members in Cagayan Valley did not sense it,” said Antonio Flores, KMP Spokesperson.

“The farmers from Danggayan-CV said that all they knew was that the DA was conducting cloudseeding but there is still no rain. There are also reports of giving out of seeds of hybrid rice but they were channeled through pseudo-farmer partylist group backed by the military,” he added.

Damage to crops are estimated at P3-billion, P2.4-billion in Isabela and P600,000 in Cagayan. Damage to corn crops was pegged at almost P1.5-billion. The extreme dry season or “almost no rainfall” have affected 80 – 95% of rice crops and corn crops are worse damaged. By March, farmers said that crops would be totally destroyed.

According to Danggayan-CV, among Isabela districts, 3rd district was the most hit with P529-million on corn crops and P468-million on rice crops. This is composed of 9 city and towns, Cauayan City, Angadanan, Alicia, Luna, Reina Mercedes, San Guillermo, Gamu, San Mateo and Naguilian. Cauayan City was the most damaged with P331-million on corn crops and P250-million on rice. The group said that non-irrigation is a major cause as 60% of Cagayan farms are not irrigated. Also, as early as first week of February, the Magat dam has stopped supplying the irrigation system and water levels on deep wells declined to 30%.

The group added that the farmers pay half the price of high-yielding variety of rice at P1,800 per bag, hybrid rice at P3,500, hybrid rice SL8 brand at P3,800, while round-up ready corn is at P1,500 and pesticide Yield Guard is at P700. Worse, they said that only those close to barangay officials and mayor were included on the list of beneficiaries.

In Bgy. Remus, Baggao town of Cagayan province, only 2 received corn seeds and 8 with rice, all of them officials of the baranggay. In some areas, seeds are being raffled among farmers. In Bgy. Dafunganay, Amulong town, 5 bags of corn seeds were only given covering 283 hectares of corn farms, which resulted to a glass-amount of seeds per household. In Allacapan town, DA required farmers Certificate of Indigents before giving out support and they are selling seeds to landowners controlling a minimum of 5 has. The latest promise of DA in Baggao was that on February 21 they are to compensate farmers who shelled out for fertilizers even amounting to P5,000. No compensations were made to farmers.

“DA officials are experts in giving broken promises and the seeds they are giving out are those requiring massive irrigation, thus it is useless for the region’s condition. Worse, they are colluding with pseudo-farmer groups and the military, using relief for counter-insurgency and electoral purposes,” said Flores.

Danggayan-CV said that as early as December last year, soldiers from the 45th Infantry Battalion of the Phil. Army were already conducting house-to-house at barangays in San Mariano, Isabela province and warning farmers not to vote Anakpawis Partylist and other militant partylist groups as they are with the New People’s Army (NPA). They are campaigning for a pseudo-peasant partylist group led by the military and membership were rewarded with vegetable and corn seeds. However, they were not applicable to be cultivated as it is already dry season.

“Of these measures, we are asking the DA, are these only you could do?” asked Flores.

Price control, imports and subsidies
Moreover, KMP and other rural-based groups are calling for price control on agricultural products such as rice, vegetables, sugar, fish, corn and more. There were reports that prices are to jack up as effects of the El Niño.

“There should be no soaring price increase on agri-products as the market is primarily dictated by traders and not strictly by the supply and demand. The monopoly of traders set the prices and not the producing farmers, thus, there is no immediate connection of farmgate and retail prices. We should oppose any price hikes as these would only further enrich traders and landlords amidst a serious crisis. The gov’t should at least uphold the people’s interest to avail products at their current prices. We call on the Dept. of Trade and Industry (DTI) to implement price control,” said Flores.

The groups are also opposing the increase in maximum import volume of rice from 2.4 million metric tons annually to 3 million metric tons. They said that these would worsen the producing capacity of the country’s agriculture and further develop food dependency on other countries.

“The gov’t should not use calamities to justify massive rice imports, instead, it should start reviewing its programs and policies on agriculture and implement those beneficial to the farmers and people,” said Flores.

KMP has been campaigning against liberalization of agriculture and country’s submission to the dictates of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The group said that the gov’t should primarily implement Genuine Land Reform, combined with sustainable agriculture and not market-oriented.

“The Arroyo government has been ‘successful’ in transforming the country into a net-importer of rice, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has destroyed our self-reliance and food security. She continues to neglect agriculture by not implementing genuine land reform, irrigation, and further privatizing dams as what has done to Magat dam. The people are enduring at present are the outcome of Arroyo’s misgovernance and wrong priorities, ” said Flores. #