Rice Tariffication Law worse than Yolanda, says rice farmers alliance
- Rice For A Cause PH
- Dec 1, 2019
- 1 min read
MANILA - The Rice Tariffication Law is worse than supertyphoon Yolanda in terms of its damage to the livelihood of rice farmers, an alliance of farmers organizations and advocates said on Monday.
As palay prices dropped amid the flood of imported grain, the farmers' groups said total losses for rice farmers this year could reach P140 billion, or P30,000 per hectare.
"This is more than 10 times the damage wrought by Typhoon Yolanda to the agriculture sector in 2013, and it is all man-made," the farmers said in a statement.
The alliance, which includes the Federation of Free Farmers, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas and Alyansa Agrikultura, said that the losses incurred by around 2.1 million rice farmers have resulted in a brewing socio-economic and humanitarian crisis in already poverty-stricken rural areas.
"Farmers will default on their debt payments and may fail to borrow again for the next season," the groups said.
On Nov. 20, the farmers' groups said they will hold a "national day protest" to call for a stop to rice imports."This is more than 10 times the damage wrought by Typhoon Yolanda to the agriculture
Gutierrez, P. (2019). Rice Tariffication Law worse than Yolanda, says rice farmers alliance. ABS CBN News. Retrieved from https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/11/18/19/rice-tariffication-law-worse-than-yolanda-says-rice-farmers-alliance
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