-ilIRIIItAtrbBUTTETITI
, Monday, November 18, 2019
Excess rice tariffs
should go straight to
beleaguered farmers
By ttLs0t{ 0UlSM0R|0
is set.to file this
. A House leader
. week a measure which would al-
low the government to tap all rice
import ttriff collections in excess of
the F1o-billion Rice competitiveness
Enhancement Fund (RCEF) to set up
a special emergencyfund for farmers
affected by falling farm gate prices of
the staple food following its
recent market deregulation. >9
Deputy Speaker Camarines Sur-2nd
district Rep. LPayvillafuerte saidhewill
file ajoint resolution to provide congres -
sional authorization for an immediate
spEkl fund to enable the Depaftnbnt of
Agrftiilture (DA) to disEibute directcash
transfers to small farmers to help them
cope with low prices of palay (unhusked
rice) this main hawest season.
The'plungng farm gate prices have
been attributed to Republic Act (RA)
11203;'the Rice Tariffication Law (RIL).
Implemenled last March, the law did
away with the old quahtitative restric-
tions on imported rice in exchange for
tariffs.
The RCEF, a component of RA [2o3
that's been packaged as an aid medn-
nism fot local farmers, is made possible
via the collected tariffs.
The low prices ofpalay reported to
-
be less than?1o a kilo in some provinces-
((huge
have resulted in income losses for
rice farmers and the industry, \ *fch is
now estimated at around F5o billion at
current prices,'J Villafuerte said.
To modemize the farm sector and
make local palay growers globally com-
petitive, RA [203 provides for the cre-
ation of the RCEF, which shall have an
annual appropriation of Fto billion over
the next sixyears, to be sourced from the
tariff revenues collected by the Bureau of
Customs (BOC) from rice imports.
Villafuerte noted that since the law
took effect in March up to end-October
this year, BOC collections from rice im-
port tariffs have already reached Fl14
billion, or an excess ofrt 4billion in rev-
enues supposedly earmarked for RCEF.
The.e*cess amount plus subsequeni;
_
BOC collections till the yearend
and the Senate.
should bei
channeled, he said, to his proposed Rice
: i.i UnderllAr2o3, thePlo-billion RCEF
shall be allocated as follows: 50 percent
Farmer Fhancial Assistance (RFFA) pro_
or 15 billion fot the procurement of rice
grarn to finance a cash n-ansfer witem
for palay farmers-similar to the cash ^ farmmachineryandequipmenttobedis-
tributed as grant in kind to eligible fahn-
subsidies that low-income households
ers associations, dce cooperatives and
and other wlnerable sectors are now
getting separately from the social pro- . Iocal govemment units for the purpose
tection initiatives of various government
of improving farm mechanization; jo
percent orrS billion for the development,
agencies.
"Ratherthan wait for excess amount
propagation, and promotion of high-
quality rice seeds; 10 lErcent or pr billion
to be appropriated under the nationat
budget for the following year when for expanded rice credit assistance with
this was collected, the congress should minimal interest rates; and 10 percent or
act now and do its share in helping our .
Pl billion for rice extension services.
disb-aught rice famers survive this tem - Villafuerte said the amount of no
ponrydrop inpatayfarm gateprices and billion was appropriated for RCEF under
transition to the new rice tariffication the unprogrammed-appropriations of
regime, " Villafuene said. the 2019 cAA. Sinc6 the law's effec-
Under Section 13 of the RTL, the tivity, the DA has been rolling out the
excess of F1o. billion for RCEF shall be mandated interventions as prescribed
earmarked by Congress for RFFA, titiing by RAu2o3.
of agricultural rice land, €xDa{ded crop There are 2.5 million rice farmers in
rnsurance program on rice, and crop the country. (Ellson A quismorio)
divers icadon program, ,,and included
in the General Appropriations Act (cAA)
of the followingyear.',
((There
\ f4-ttal7 p,\c;e t,
is an urgent need to irnme.
diately set- up the Rice Farmer Financial
Assistance as a supplementarv and
transitional safety measure to serve as
compensation to rice farmers who are
farming two hectares and below for the
reduction or loss of their farm income
arising from the tariffication of the
qlantitative import restrictions on rice, ,,
Villafuerte said.
the deputy speaker said thatowingto
.
the urgengr of prorjidingfinancial succor
to the country,s beleaguered rice farm-
ers, the National Treasury can declare
the import tariff collections beyond the
flo-billion RCEF as excess or surplus
income, which congress can tlen au-
thoriz€ to be funneled into the proposed
RFFA program.
villafuerte said the passage of his
proposed ioint resolution, which will
undergo the same process as that of a
bill, will have the full force and effect of
a law once approved by both the House