Unquantified Injury To Economy! MinDA SEEKS REVIEW OF RTL AS FARM GATE PRICE DROPS

Importing 3-million metric tons when the actual rice production shortfall is only 2-million tons (It was just 1.2-million in 2017) means that rice farmers in an estimated 200,000 hectares will be eased out because of very low farm gate prices.

Beyond the losses suffered by farmers because of the drop in farm gate prices which a study by the Federation of Free Farmers said could be between P40-B to P80-B, there is a huge still unquantified damage to the economy.

How many workers are displaced for every hectare that will no longer be planted to rice?

How many turtle-tillers, harvesters and rice mills will not be used? How much fertilizer and farm inputs will not be bought?

How many duck raisers will suffer because of less areas to range their fowls?

How much rice bran and Tiki-tiki needed by feed mills will not be produced?

How would the scarcity of feed mill raw materials affect the cost of feeds and what would be the impact on the poultry and hog industry?

There are still so many ancillary activities which would be affected by lesser local production because of the deluge of imported rice.

This will hurt Mindanao’s economic recovery.

The Mindanao Development Authory reiterates its resolution passed during the latest Board of Governors meeting calling for a review of the Rice Tariffication Law.

This appeal reverberates in the whole of Mindanao as rice prices dropped from P20 per kilo to only P11 today.

We cannot turn a deaf ear.

#GovtIsNotInfallible!

#LetsNotTurnADeafEar!