July - September 2019 Vol. 28 No. 3 Bicol is free from African Swine Fever (ASF) RCEF to benefit rice farmers in 59 Bicol pork is safe to eat LGUs in Bicol DA Bicol OIC Regional by Annielyn L. Baleza Executive Director Rodel P. Tornilla led the swine industry stakeholders to a “boodle fight” Rice farmers in 59 of lechon and other pork dishes municipal and city local to assure the public that it is safe government units (LGUs) to eat pork as the Bicol Region is in Bicol will benefit from free from African Swine Fever the P3 billion-worth Rice (ASF). Heads of DA attached Competitiveness Enhancement agencies such as the National Fund (RCEF) Seed Program Meat Inspection Service to be implemented by the (Please turn to page 11) Department of Agriculture Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) beginning DA Bicol engages LGUs to buy this dry season 2020. At the Social Mobilization palay from local farmers by Lovella P. Guarin cum Consultation Among LGUs on RCEF-Seed Program NAGA CITY – To engage the Implementation for Camarines support and involvement of Sur Province held in DA the Local Government Units Regional Field Office on August (LGUs) in addressing the dip in 23, 2019, PhilRICE-Bicol prices of palay, DA Bicol OIC Project Development Officer II Regional Executive Director (Please turn to page 15) Rodel P. Tornilla invited the governors and the provincial Francis Bichara expressed his agriculturists for a meeting on support and shared his vision to Tornilla is new OIC RED of DA 5 last September. put up rice milling and drying by Lovella P. Guarin DA 5 OIC Director Tornilla facilities to be operated by the echoed DA Secretary William PLGU in Albay. He however Rodel P. Tornilla is the Dar’s call for Provincial LGUs raised the issue on the conflict 15th OIC Regional Executive (PLGUs) to allocate funds to with the provisions of RA 9184 Director (RED) of the bankroll palay-buying, drying, or the government procurement Department of Agriculture milling and rice marketing. reform act if the PLGUs will RFO 5. His appointment (S.O Tornilla also bared Secretary engage in palay trading as the 411) was signed by Secretary Dar’s arrangement with the latter is only allowed by law to Emmanuel F. Piñol last May Land Bank of the Philippines to engage in business enterprise 2, 2019 but he assumed the open a loan window for palay if there is a declaration of a position on July 1, 2019 after procurement particularly to the state of calamity. The other the optional retirement of PLGUs. former RED Elena B. delos (Please turn to page 6) Albay Governor Al (Please turn to page 9) Rodel P. Tornilla EDITORIAL Rice Tarrification Law a bitter pill to resuscitate the rice industry The Rice Tarrification Law is a bitter was even long overdue as the Philippine system, lack of appropriate post-harvest pill that we Filipinos have to swallow to has to abide by its international trade facilities and infrastructures; conversion resuscitate our ailing rice industry. The law agreement obligation in order to spare it of agricultural lands and steady decline in was intended to make more rice available from being economically-sanctioned by the agriculture labor force. This is further in the market as our country is not rice its trading partners under the World Trade exacerbated by the fact that the agriculture self-sufficient. We import an average of 5 Organization. The implementation of the sector has not been getting the attention to 10 percent of our national requirements. law became even more urgent last year to and budgetary support it rightfully It also aims to address all obstacles to a arrest the fast rising prices where inflation deserves. competitive market, and is expected to hit 5.7 in July and 6.7 in September and to One good result that the uproar about result in a decline of rice prices. Thus, prevent food crisis. the implementation of the Rice Tarrification alongside with the implementation of the Thus, with the removal of the Law and the resounding lament of our Law , our economic managers pushed for quantitative restrictions on rice followed local farmers for the plummeting low the creation of the Rice Competitiveness the entry of cheap rice from Asian price of their palay is that it has brought Enhancement Fund (RCEF) and countries, subsequently, the inflation rate to the fore the deeply rooted, structurally immediate completion of the national rice started going down. But our country’s rice -flawed and economic inefficiencies of our roadmap to guide how government funds industry has to pay a big cost. Unscrupulous rice industry. We cannot afford to ignore should be programmed to fully support rice traders including prominent and well- them now. Our rice industry must be the plan. Through the RCEF, more than placed business oligarchs began importing given all the assistance it can get. Our local P10 billion from the tariff proceeds will huge quantities of rice. With rice traders rice farmers need help now more than be allocated to finance the promotion, shifting from buying local palay to buying ever. What they need are long term or acquisition, distribution of certified seeds, cheap imported rice outright, demand for permanent solutions not just palliatives. farm machineries, postharvest facilities local rice abruptly went down. And with The Department of Agriculture under and other infrastructures, extension and the imported rice in great abundance, the watch of Sec. William Dar has laid training support and credit assistance to Filipino rice farmers have to suffer the down a “New Thinking” and 8 Paradigms farmers listed in the Registry System for consequences as prices for our local to transform and level up Agriculture Basic Sectors in Agriculture and accredited farmers’ harvest began plummeting. The secretary also rallies everyone to cooperatives and associations. These While the implementation of the Rice “Bring Hope and Touch the Hearts” of our interventions are expected to improve rice Tarrification Law might have triggered Farmers who have been driven to Despair. farmer’s efficiency and productivity and this scenario, there are other factors that With this is also the appeal to the patriotic enhance their competitiveness. contributed to the current status and sense of our traders and businessmen not The enactment and implementation downtrend of our country’s rice industry. to exploit but alleviate our farmers so of the Rice Tarrification Law is expected The main factors which are structural, that they will not be forced to abandon to be met with opposition by some deeply-rooted and long-standing that have farming but continue to provide food for sectors and is not without its birth pangs put the rice industry in the doldrums are: all Filipinos while they too are earning an as it opened our gates to cheap imported high production cost ; low farm gate price; increased income and living a prosperous rice. But it is a necessary gambit which lack of access to credit, poor irrigation life. Published quarterly by the Re-entered as a Second Regional Agriculture and Fisheries Class Mail Matter at Information Section of the Department the Pili Post Office, Pili, of Agriculture, Regional Field Office No. 5 San Agustin, Pili, Camarines Sur Camarines Sur under Tel No.(054) 477-5113 Fax 477-0381 Permit No. 2019-17 E-mail Address: [email protected] on March 25, 2019 Editor-in-Chief: Emilia B. Bordado Advisers: Writers: Lovella P. Guarin Dr. Elena B. Delos Santos Jayson M. Gonzales Regional Executive Director Blesilda A. Nuñez Annielyn L. Baleza Dr. Edgar R. Madrid Michelle Angela G. Alfigura Regional Technical Director Circulation: Blesilda A. Nuñez for Research and Regulations Lay-out Artist: Lovella P. Guarin Lita V. Estrella Photographer/Liason Officer: Marites Dilla Mr. Rodel P. Tornilla Eduardo D. Collantes, Jr. Vincent Emil Pasumbal OIC Regional Technical Director Illustrators: Hermito Antonio T. Privaldos Records Unit for Operations and Extension Ramon C. Adversario 2 UMAsenso July - September 2019 Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) she underscored. PRDP-funded enterprise subprojects in the I-REAP is one of the four components of PRDP that provides technical, financial works for Bicol’s cassava, coconut and swine and infrastructure support to eligible groups in targeted project areas within the priority value chains identified under the PILI, CAMARINES SUR – Enterprise of the enterprise, business overview, Provincial Commodity Investment Plans development subprojects on cassava, input, process, output (IPO) matrix, (PCIPs). Through I-REAP, the PRDP coconut and swine being proposed for production assumption, marketing plan, aims to strengthen and develop viable funding under the Philippine Rural investment needed and initial cost sharing agriculture- and fishery-based enterprises to Development Project (PRDP) in Bicol computation. achieve its project development objectives are now being crafted. PRDP-Bicol is DA-Bicol Regional Technical of increasing annual real household currently assisting four municipal local Director for Operations and PRDP-Bicol annual income of farmer and fisherfolk government units and proponent groups in Deputy Project Director Adelina Losa beneficiaries by at least 5 percent per preparing business plans for the proposed sought the MPMIUs and PGs’ cooperation year and raising the incomes for targeted Investments in Rural Enterprises and in complying with the requirements of the beneficiaries involved in enterprise Agriculture and Fisheries Productivity Project. development by at least 30 percent. PRDP- (I-REAP) subprojects in Bula, Goa “Hindi namin yan magagawa na funded I-REAP subprojects are also and Lupi, in Camarines Sur and Jose ma-approve by September kung walang projected to increase the value of annual Panganiban, Camarines Norte. cooperation from you (Without your marketed output by 7 percent. (Annielyn At the Business Planning Workshop cooperation, we won’t be able to have these L.