Producers warn of rice shortage

 

MANILA, Philippines - The country has only 18 days’ supply of rice from the National Food Authority (NFA) and even less stocks for commercial rice, according to a party-list lawmaker.

ABAKADA party-list Rep. Jonathan de la Cruz said Thursday there is an imminent shortage of the staple in the coming weeks in the aftermath of successive storms.

He said he has received numerous reports that the remaining rice stocks of wholesalers, distributors and even dealers are already drying up despite claims by the NFA that the country is nearly rice sufficient.

“I think that we should really look into this. From what I was told by NFA insiders, we only have 18 days in supply stock and worst, we only have around five to six days of good stock rice because the rest are still in palay form,” De la Cruz said in a statement.

He described the situation as very serious because the harvest season is still in October, around two months away.

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines - Three of the country's top 10 rice-producing provinces warned that rice supply may run low as typhoon Santi battered Central Luzon.

The devastation came in the wake of a warning by Sen. Loren Legarda last week of a situation similar to the 1995 rice crisis when indecisive stockpiling on the part of the government and the adverse effects of rogue weather systems had caused havoc on the country's rice supply.

Legarda, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Climate Change, based her observation on the September 10 National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Sec. Arsenio Balisacan's Memorandum for Presoident Benigno Aquino III, warning of “food security issues” should the government fail to address a projected rice production deficit of as much as 1.4 million metric tons (MT).

However, amid these warnings, Department of Agriculture (DA) Sec. Proceso Alcala had insisted on the agency’s rice self-sufficiency figures, even if these have relied heavily on favorable weather conditions.

Alcala has said that  “because of good weather condition, the country can produce 13.03 million MT of milled rice, exceeding the domestic demand of 11.23 million MT.”

With Santi pummeling Central Luzon, however, Alcala's optimism over the country’s rice produce can no longer hold water as 15,000 hectares of about-to-be-harvested rice fields were damaged in Nueva Ecija. 

                                   

Why Does the Philippines Import Rice:

A Solution to the Rice Shortage

1. Introduction

Research has contributed significantly in achieving food security by increasing the yield potential of rice in irrigated systems, reducing the crop maturity period to close the gaps in the rainfed systems; achieving yield stability by developing resistance against major insects and diseases in the modern high yielding varieties to reduce farmer’s dependence on harmful agrochemicals; to increase efficiency in the use of water, land, labor, and fertilizers.

2. Rice Production in the Philippines

In the Philippines, rice is grown on small family based farms with an average size varying from less than 0.5 to 4.0 ha, hence the ratio is small. The possibility of increasing planting areas is nearly exhausted. Yield increases have begun to slow as well. Added to that, the Philippines population is perhaps the fastest growing in the world. The Philippines has approximately 4.2 million ha of rice lands and produce about 11.2 million Metric Tons of milled rice, sufficient only for 90% of the population. There are atleast five major provinces which produce rice as its major farm crop.

Rice production in the Philippines has been rapidly growing since 1970’s until the early 1980’s when the country achieved self-sufficiency, having a surplus enabling the country to export a small amount.

Going further, a study of farmers' planting methods will show that about half of the country's rice lands are still planted with the old rice varieties that produce only about 2.75 MT/hectare. The Philippines has so-called "Certified" and "Hybrid" seeds that yield 4.7 and 6.5 MT/hectare, respectively. The country's supplier of hybrid seeds even claim that the actual average yield of his seeds is actually higher (8~10 MT/hectare) and there are even instances of exceptionally high yields that are reported by some farmers.

According to the latest figures released by the Philippine Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS), the production of unmilled rice (palay) in the country have risen by 5.13 % to reach 3.94 million MT in the first quarter of the year on increased irrigation and seed supplies.

3. Rice Consumption in the Philippines

Rice is the staple food in the Philippines, more important to the economy and to the people at a lower income levels, hence an important intervention point for promotion of agricultural development and alleviation of poverty. Rice is what many farmers grow, but it is also what nearly all consumers eat. In many cases, farmers have more flexibility to switch crops than consumers (especially poor ones) do to switch their staple food. Rice is considered a socially- and politically-sensitive commodity, and securing supply at whatever cost is paramount. Rice is such an integral part of history and culture in the Philippines for many Filipinos.

Noticeably, consumption increased from 2003 which is only 26,000 tonnes comparing now with the national daily consumption of the grain at 33,000 tonnes,

accounting for 20 percent of the daily household budget, on an average, with each Filipino eating 115 kilograms, or more than two sacks a year. Apart from being the main source of carbohydrates, rice creates what anthropologists refer to as "the physiological sensation of satiety". Rice is eaten by millions of poor consumers and grown by millions of poor farmers in the Philippines, and to ignore fairness and equity would strip the analysis of much of its value. For most Filipinos, no meal is complete without rice (David C. Dawe, et al, 2005). At this point, it produces only 90% of the rice demand and imports the remaining quantity from neighboring countries.

Some 68 million Filipinos live on less than $2 a day, according to the National Statistics Office 2006 survey. Rice purchases make up 12 to 20 percent of their total food expenditures.

4. Prices of Rice in the Philippines

Towards the later part of 1986, rice prices begun to increase until the present time. In the 1980’s, rice prices in Philippines and Thailand are similar but since then prices have rapidly increased in the Philippines.

Figure 1 Farm prices for rice, 1980-2005 Figure 2 Wholesale rice prices in Philippines

(Source: IRRI, 2005) and Thailand, 1980-2005

(Source: IRRI, 2005)

5. Imports in the Philippines

Once self-sufficient in rice, the Philippines is listed by the US Department of Agriculture as the world's top importer of milled rice for 2007, ahead of Nigeria, Indonesia and Bangladesh. Over the past 20 years or so, the country lost nearly half of its irrigated land to rapid urban development.

The shortage in the rice production of the Philippines has been augmented by imports from other Southeast Asian countries, particularly Thailand and Vietnam. The Philippines imported no milled rice from the U.S. in 2007, according to a USDA Foreign agricultural Service report in February (BBC Southeast Asia).The Philippines is the world's biggest rice importer, purchasing between 1 million to 2 million MT each year, mainly from Thailand and Vietnam. This volume is equivalent to 10 % of the Philippines' total rice consumption.

Figure 3 Rice Importing Countries 2003-2008

Source: FAO, Agriculture Database, USDA FAS, 2009

6. Solutions to the Rice Shortage

Many reasons have contributed to the shortage of rice but the country after withdrawing from the market due to ample domestic supplies and a government-imposed import ban during the main harvest period, Indonesia is projected to return as the number one importer in 2005. The Philippines, however, will see a substantial drop in imports—about 70 percent—resulting from bumper production and ample stocks as the government hopes to promote self-sufficiency through hybrid rice production.

Deeper than the reason mentioned above to meet demand, some possible solution is to change diet by shifting from rice as staple food to other food stuffs like noodles, sweet potato, corn or other foodstuffs as substitute to the sole rice as main meal. What is needed is to practice feeding on other alternatives of rice. Kids and youths of today must be trained in such a way not to fully depend on rice, instead to plant some vegetables and other crops which could be beneficial to every member in the family. Produce which could supply sufficient nutrition or vitamins to everyone. At same time, educate consumers on the advantages of consuming less amount of rice to the physical condition or one’s health (eat more fruits and vegetables than rice).

7. Conclusion

Based from the above situations and conditions, the challenge today is how will we be of help to the crisis in our own ways? Many answers and opinions may arise from each individual, but one thing made me encouraged that, even we, the younger generation (youth of today) can take part in creating solutions to answer the call on global crisis. Small potatoes as we are, can also play a role in meeting the world’s future needs by: 1. creating in us awareness and consciousness of the crisis experienced in the present time and how to respond for the future; 2. bringing us into a common vision for

the future