LEGAZPI CITY, Bicol – The Integrated Rural Development Foundation (IRDF) issued an urgent Call to Action on International Human Rights Day (December 10), warning that the deepening food crisis stems from profound structural failures in agricultural policy, directly threatening the nation's food sovereignty.
The Crisis: Low farmgate prices, high consumer prices
Experts and farmer leaders highlighted the stark realities faced by the sector: Farmer losses: Palay (unhusked rice) prices, often ranging from P12–P15/kg , are consistently below the production cost of P17–P20/kg.
Consumer burden: Meanwhile, retail rice prices are soaring, reaching P48–P60/kg, worsening hunger among the poor.
The RTL failure: The Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) is blamed for opening the floodgates to cheap, unregulated imports, depressing farm incomes. The law has benefited traders and importers while devastating Filipino farmers.
Threat to production: The continuous losses are forcing farmers to abandon cultivation or sell their land. UPLB scientist Prof. Teodoro Mendoza warns that within 10 to 15 years, there may be very few farmers left to grow rice.
Prof. Mendoza: "No nation can claim autonomy if it cannot feed its people... rice accounts for 45–70% of the daily calorie intake of Filipinos, making it central not only to nutrition but also to national identity".
The Solution: A 5-point plan for food sovereignty
IRDF, through Executive Director Arze Glipo, presented five essential, governance-focused reforms to stabilize the rice sector and reclaim policy space:
1. Immediately raise palay support price to P22–P25/kg.
This immediate measure is about justice and stabilizing farm incomes, preventing the exodus of farmers from rice production.
2. Shift NFA mandate to active trade intervention.
The government must strengthen state intervention in the rice trade by moving the National Food Authority's (NFA) mandate away from mere buffer stocking and toward actively influencing the price.
This requires:
Increased procurement: Mandating NFA to buy at least 20% of the country's total palay production to dismantle the control of private traders.
Infrastructure investment: Constructing adequate drying facilities and warehouses.
Expanded reach: Mandating NFA to install more buying stations at farm clusters and partner with cooperatives and farmer associations for procurement.
Budgetary support: Allocating at least P200 billion to the NFA for aggressive palay procurement. This level of support is comparable to strategies in Thailand and India.
3. Amend or repeal the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL)
The law must be amended or repealed to restore balance and implement more prudent import management, which includes returning quantitative controls and safeguard mechanisms.
4. Implement debt relief and climate-resilient support.
Relief measures for farmers' debts must be paired with investments in climate-resilient technologies, agroecological practices, and improved irrigation systems to protect production from climate change impacts.
5. Institutionalize participatory food governance.
A National Rice and Food Security Council, including farmers, rural women, consumers, LGUs, and independent experts, must be established to ensure democratic control over the food system.
The time to act is now
The IRDF asserts that the necessary funds for NFA's P200-billion procurement target can be redirected from existing national budgets — even from "ghost flood control funds" or other sources of political corruption. If billions can be allocated to infrastructure that serves as a source of corruption, those funds should be channeled back to agriculture and the rice industry, which democratizes wealth and boosts economic growth in rural areas.
IRDF and farmer groups urge the President and Congress: "Choose courage, choose the people. Rebuild our rice economy now".