Nueva Ecija farmers fear financial ruin as palay prices drop to P12/kilo

With the drop in palay prices from P17 to P12 per kilo, rice farmers in Nueva Ecija are finding it difficult to make ends meet. 

"'Di talaga biro. Baga may matitira halos pagkain lang ng halos dalawang buwan, ganoon lang. Lalo sa amin wala kaming sariling puhunan," farmer Robert Dela Cruz said in Bam Alegre's Tuesday on 24 Oras.

Among the expenses farmers had to shoulder was the payment for the operator of the tractor mounted reaper. For every 100 sacks of palay harvested, 10 sacks go to the operator as payment.

Farmers also have to pay workers who have to lug the sacks of palay from the farm P40 per sack.

Jun Cerrioza, a farmer who has been farming for five decades, said this was the first time palay prices had dropped this low.

And with fertilizers and fuel prices unchanged, Cerrioza could only pay off the interest on his loans.

"Nagagawa ng doon sa mga administrasyon bakit nag-aangkat ng bigas. Samantalang dito kumpleto naman ang bigas. Eh, bakit nag-angkat. Edi lalong kami napapahirapan," Cerrioza complained. — Joahna Lei Casilao/DVM, GMA News