ROXAS: SUBSIDIES NOT BE-ALL AND END-ALL
PARALLEL PROGRAMS FOR LONG-TERM FOOD SECURITY NEEDED

Senator Mar Roxas warned the executive branch that its preoccupation with short-term subsidies in response to high prices, widespread unemployment, and growing hunger could result in an even worse rice and food crisis by next year.

The Liberal Party President chided the executive branch for focusing merely on the "political aspects" of the problem, such as a one-time P500-subsidy ostensibly for electricity needs of poor families.

"Can the Department of Agriculture tell the people where the 2 million tons of rice needed next year will come from, when even our neighbors are experiencing a shortage? It is still not clear how much of the supply will come from Cagayan Valley, from Central Luzon, and so on," he said.

"The subsidies are helpful in the short-term, but should not be the be-all, end-all, because these are not sustainable and permanent solutions to pressing problems," Roxas said.

"There must be a parallel program and disbursement of money for priority areas, such as irrigation, farm-to-market roads, and subsidies or loans for fertilizer, so that farmers can go from two bags per hectare to the ideal six to eight bags per hectare," he added.

In the case of rice, Roxas said the government's policy to import rice and sell it locally at subsidized rates comes with an opportunity cost: the billions spent could have been used to support local farmers attain optimal productivity.

"We are the largest rice importer in the world, and that is really shameful for a country where rice is a staple. We are no longer in control of our destiny, our destiny is in the control of farmers in Thailand and Vietnam," he stressed.

"By selling subsidized rice, we are, in effect subsidizing the farmers of other countries. But when will we help our own farmers?" he said.

Roxas explained that the rice NFA sells at P18.50 per kilo is bought at $1,220 per MT, or P51 per kilo. The subsidy per kilo would then cost P32.50. If the government is set to import around 600,000 MT this year, the amount of subsidy would be roughly P20 billion.

On the other hand, if the government gives out loans to farmers so that they would be able to purchase the additional three fertilizer bags needed to optimize their production, it would increase national productivity by 1.2 million MT per year, assuming one million hectares of irrigated land. The total cost of this would be roughly P5 billion.