Sunday, December 17, 2006 Hybrid rice farmers want higher price By Grace L. Plata
DAVAO City's farmers are appealing to the Department of Agriculture (DA) to hold a dialogue with local grain traders on the proposal of the farmers to increase the basic purchase price of hybrid grains.
Alliance of Davao City Farmers Federation (ADCFF) Chair Rodolfo Ochada said Thursday that traders buy hybrid grains from farmers at P15 per kilo, the same as regular commercial grains.
Ochada said with the increasing cost of the seeds, fertilizers and farming implements, it is harder for them to make a profit much less have a return of investment thus prompting them to seek the intervention of DA.
Meanwhile, the farmers are far from idle. After forming themselves into a federation, they have started to identify collective concerns and formulated courses of actions to address these issues through a consultative meeting.
They also have pending requests including that of the establishment of a farm-to-market road from in Suawan, Marilog District, irrigation canals in Calinan, a grain warehouse in Polocon, solar driers for Suawan and Wangan, and the provision of coconut seedling for farmers in Catigan and Marilog, which are to funded in part by the city government under the Development Management Resource Program (DMRP).
Ochada said the farmers have grouped together to have a louder voice with which to carry their livelihood concerns.
He added that as prime producers of food for the public, they owe it upon themselves to also provide food for their families as well as education for their children, which they find hard to do with the present situation.
