The Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. (PCAFI) urges government to amend the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) and extend the life of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) past the five years dictated by legislation.
Danilo Fausto, PCAFI president, also told reporters in a briefing in Quezon City the function of the National Food Authority (NFA) should likewise be revisited.
According to him, RCEF five-year provisions allowing tariff collection from rice imports that benefit rice farmers will lapse in June next year.
The RCEF’s annual collection of some P10 billion helps fund critical programs that ensure food production such as the P5-billion farm mechanization program, the distribution of high-yield rice seeds costing P3 billion; training and capacity buildup for farmers costing another P1 billion and credit support for the remaining P1 billion.
Fausto said it makes sense for government to provide incentives and assistance to manufacturers of farm machinery and equipment given that most of these items are imported from China.
“We need a local manufacturer of machinery, either (through) reverse engineering which means that you will import it then replicate them here,” Fausto said.
He also said should the RCEF collection be extended, the P5 billion allocation for mechanization can be repurposed as incentives for local firms that manufacture farm machinery.
Likewise, Fausto made the case the government consider utilizing the National Food Authority in stockpiling not only grains but also other basic commodities in addition to restoring its powers to sell agricultural goods in markets.
Fausto said goods such as sugar, onion and fish, among others should also be stockpiled by the NFA although such would require an additional budget and the support of both the private sector and local government units to succeed.
“It must be a strategic stockpiling and not just for the sake of stockpiling. The NFA has the authority to inspect warehouses and cold storage facilities. It can see what goods are available so it can project what is lacking,” Fausto said.
He claimed the proposal is achievable given that the NFA has numerous warehouses nationwide.
Under the current RTL, the NFA can no longer sell subsidized rice in markets as its buffer stocks can be used only in emergency situations and disaster relief during calamities.
The law also allows the NFA to unload additional stocks only if these are aging or about to deteriorate.
