ON THIS International Day of Peasant Struggles, peasants and fisherfolk from various provinces rise in collective action amidst scorching heat to demand urgent and concrete government action as intensifying energy crisis continues to drive up the cost of irrigation, transportation, and other costs related to food production.
In this nationally-coordinated action, they have expressed their woes as prices of fuel products continue to skyrocket.
Danny Carranza, Secretary-General of Kilusan para sa Repormang Agraryo at Katarungang Panlipunan (Katarungan) expressed dismay about the snail-paced distribution and small amount of the immediate relief assistance to farmers and fisherfolk.
“Aside from the P10 billion, the Department of Agriculture still had P18 billion that went unused in 2025. For 2026, there is an additional P19 billion that can be sourced. Then there is another P32 billion that can be realigned. This would make a big difference if it is distributed quickly to more farmers and fisherfolk, and if the amount given is higher.”
He added that the Department of Agriculture must ensure its immediate release to prevent local producers from further distress.
On the other hand, rice farmers from Tarlac City have raised their concern about the steep decline in the palay farmgate price. Henry Enriquez, a farmer-leader of Sama-Sama from Brgy. Maliwalo said, “The buying price of palay is very low right now, so why is rice so expensive? Because of this, many of us are wondering if we should still plant. Before, we were already preparing seedlings before May, but due to losses, farmers might just wait for the rainy season so expenses won’t be too high.”
Rhealyn Bermudez, a youth and woman farmer-leader from Samahan ng Magsasaka sa Mayabsang, Lakdayan (Samamala), San Narciso, Quezon lamented the impacts of the crisis to coconut farmers, “The price of copra is now only P38 per kilo, whereas before it was around P50–55. Diesel costs have reached P150, and up to now, no one has received any subsidy. Our coconut farmers are suffering greatly.”
“We onion farmers have had a good harvest, but we have almost nowhere to sell it. Some traders will buy, but at extremely low prices. We end up earning nothing. The price of rice here is also high—around P67–70 per kilo for well-milled rice”, shared by Carmelo Cabantugan, an onion farmer-leader from Samahan ng Kalalakihang Magsasaka ng Pamikalan of Abra de Ilog, Occidental Mindoro.
“For us sugarcane farmers, the buying price of our product is also very low. Before, it was Php 2,400 per sack; now it’s only P2,100. As for molasses, it was bought at P19,000 in 2025, but now it’s only P6,000. On top of that, urea is also expensive—it used to be P2,000, now it’s P2,800. We also lack milling facilities here. We have nowhere to sell our products,” added Isabel
Mansueto, a sugarcane farmer-leader from Sta. Cruz Multi-purpose Cooperative (SCMPC), Tanjay City, Negros Oriental.
Jolito M. Lojera, a fisherfolk leader in Don Juan Vercelos, San Francisco, Quezon stressed that
the impacts of the fuel crisis have pushed fishers to limit their fishing activities and search for other income sources has proven difficult. “Many fishers no longer go out to sea. If they do, they fish closer to shore because they can no longer afford to go to farther fishing grounds due to the high cost of fuel. Others have been forced to work in construction just to earn something. We still haven’t received any subsidy.”
Farmers from Pampanga, Palawan, Eastern Samar, Leyte, North Cotabato, and Davao del Norte echoed shared concerns over rising agricultural costs, emphasizing that the ongoing energy crisis has deepened longstanding injustices, from snail-paced agrarian reform and lack of support services to the impact of neoliberal policies to local production. They noted that ayuda is not a sustainable and sufficient intervention to cushion the impact of the crisis.
In this light, our local food producers demand the following:
● Higher amount and Immediate release of cash assistance
● Prompt and comprehensive support to local production including solar-power irrigation
projects, water impounding systems, among others to cushion the impacts of energy crisis
and extreme heat
● Mobilization of the Department of Agriculture of its mobile trucks to aid farmers in
transporting their produce to community markets
● Price support to all basic agricultural commodities including rice, sugar, coconut, and onion.
● Relaxation of policies and processes of national government agencies to fast-track provision
of programs and projects to farmers and fishers
● Continue the imposition of the mandatory biofuel blending requirement under the Biofuels
Act of 2006 to support coconut and sugarcane farmers
● Fast-track distribution of lands under agrarian reform program
● Improve national energy independence through maximization of renewable energy sources
● Pursue food sovereignty as an alternative framework to developing our agriculture and food systems
Without necessary intervention, farmers and fishers warn that the current energy crisis, alongside systemic issues in agrarian reform, prolonged droughts, declining soil fertility, and depleting water sources, will worsen poverty among farming communities and lead to serious food insecurity in the country.
On this day, alongside other social movements in the world, farmers and fishers stand firm against repression, criminalization, and marginalization of rural workers. We also call for urgent, decisive action to address the intersecting crises confronting farmers and fisherfolk, and to uphold their rights to land, livelihood, and food sovereignty.
