THERE IS now a move to abolish the National Food Authority (NFA).
It is hard to believe that the rice agency was allowed by the government to last these many years even if it is not solving the rice supply problem and incurred a huge indebtedness because of heavy losses that accumulated from its operations.
In 2017 NFA reported its outstanding debt at P149 billion, still rather big even if it claims that this has gone down from the total of P177 billion way back in 2010.
Sen. Cynthia Villar, chairperson of the Senate committee on agriculture, supported by Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, is calling for NFA’s immediate abolition.
Also supporting the move is the Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEF), pointing out that NFA has caused aggravated inflation and rice shortages in several regions of the country, compounded by losses to the government and opened opportunities for graft and corruption to its officials and employees.
We wrote about NFA in our column way back on April 7, 2008 when it appointed one Pedro Pelagio as “rice czar” and special adviser on its rice program. His first act upon assuming office on April 15, 2008 was to recommend the observance of a “rice-less day” to save in our consumption of the cereal. He also caused the hiring of consultants from Vietnam and Thailand, two countries where we are sourcing our rice imports. This does not sound logical because if they teach us how to produce more rice, it will affect their lucrative rice export to our country.
Instead, we advised Mr. Pelagio to recruit Ilonggo farmers who won rice production contests when planting rice was still profitable. Remember, Iloilo has been known before as the “Food Basket and Rice Granary of the Philippines.”
However, many no longer find rice farming a profitable undertaking. Gone was the credit support for fertilizer and other farm inputs needed to produce a good crop. Neither is there price support for the product during harvest.
Rural banks could have been the best vehicle to reach out and help our farmers, but many are no longer operating today. Until the 1970s there used to be 1,400 of them in the countryside catering to the credit needs of farmers and small merchants. Today, barely 400 are left after Bangko Sentral closed hundreds and still continue to do so even for the slightest infraction of its rules.
Our rice farmers today live on credit that is not recorded. Many still rely on the five-six system for a three-month period, payable at harvest time.
One good news for Iloilo is that the P11.2-billion Jalaur River Multipurpose Project, Phase II (JRMP II) in the municipality of Calinog will be resumed soon. The signing of the construction contract was done yesterday between the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) and the contractor, Daewoo Engineering and Construction Co., Ltd. of Korea.
Once completed, this reservoir dam – said to be the biggest outside Luzon – will provide uninterrupted irrigation and water supply to 32,000 hectares of Iloilo farmland, benefit 783,000 farmers and increase our annual production of rice to 300,000 metric tons from the 140,000 that we have at present.
lloilo wilI now regain its title as the “Food Basket and Rice Granary of the Philippines”!
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Historical Quote of the Week
“Inocencia Solis of New Lucena, Iloilo was the first Filipino to be called the fastest woman in Asia.” (For comments or re-actions, please e-mail to jnoveracompany@yahoo.com)/PN
