Bicameral panel approves Rice Tariffication bill

The Bicameral Conference Committee approved on Thursday the Rice Tariffication bill, certified as urgent by the Duterte administration to anchor supply side inflationary pressure. 

The measure allows unlimited importation of rice as long as private sector traders secure a phytosanitary permit from the Bureau of Plant Industry and pay the 35 tariff for shipments from neighbors in Southeast Asia.

The measure earmarks P10 billion for the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement fund, of which P5 billion will be allotted to farm mechanization and P3 billion to seedlings. The fund intends to ensure that rice imports won’t drown out the agriculture sector and rob farmers of their livelihood.

“Tuturuan silang maging seed growers ng inbred seeds ng PhilRice. That will increase their harvest from four metric tons per hectare to six metric tons per hectare,” Sen. Cynthia Villar said.

“That’s a 50 percent increase in productivity. We will eventually be rice-sufficient. Of course, we cannot expect to do that in the first year, but over six years baka makaya natin maging rice sufficient because we are only short of 7 percent,” Villar added.

PhilRice or the Philippine Rice Institute is a government corporation attached to the Department of Agriculture. It was created through Executive Order 1061 Nov. 5, 1985 to help develop high-yielding and cost-reducing technologies for farmers.

Villar, who chairs the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, said the mechanization fund will provide cooperatives and other farmers’ groups with tractors, transplanters, harvesters, dryers, and milling equipment.

The goal is to improve farmers’ yield per hectare and facilitate the flow of their produce to markets.

“Iyong coop o anumang farmers group na ... nila ang makikipag-usap na sa retailers. Diretso na sila. They will supply diretso sa mga consumer and retailers,” Villar said.

The Rice Tariffication bill mandates the National Food Authority to buy rice from local farmers.

“Such mandate is given to NFA so they can maintain a buffer stock. Hindi na sila magbibigay ng license to import,” Villar said.

“As long as you get a phytosanitary permit from the Bureau of Plant Industry tapos magbabayad ka ng tariff, you can import,” Villar added. —VDS, GMA News