Rice farmers ask NFA for access to drying facilities

Rice farmers ask NFA for access to drying facilities


Agri-Commodities
Written by Butch Fernandez / Reporter
Monday, 19 October 2009 20:20

THE Congressional Oversight Committee on Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization (Cocafm) is asking the National Food Authority (NFA) to allow farmers to use its dryers and other production and postproduction machineries to save crops and reduce farm losses resulting from damage caused by typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng.
Sen. Loren Legarda, cochair of the oversight panel, aired the appeal on behalf of affected farmers even as she reiterated warnings on the need to prepare for the effects of erratic weather changes.
The senator took up the cudgels for the farmers over the weekend on learning that some NFA provincial offices were reluctant to allow use of the government-owned drying equipment and facilities.
Citing the NFA’s mandate to ensure food buffer stock and stabilize food prices, Legarda said she was told there were requests for the use of NFA dryers because farmers who dry their palay on the road are afraid of losing their precious harvest if they cannot dry them due to continuous rains. “And when they tried asking the NFA provincial offices, they were told that electricity is expensive.”
“I appeal to Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, who is the chair of the NFA board, and NFA administrator Jessup Navarro to consider the farmers’ requests,” Legarda said.
“Secretary Yap can include electricity expense in the calamity fund for agriculture and fisheries,” she added.
Legarda said, “Here is an opportunity for us to reduce our rice importation and help our food producers. A great part of the donations we are receiving and the additional calamity fund we approved in Congress is for the basic needs of our people.
“Here are our farmers; they will produce food for themselves and for us. Let us help them help themselves and others. Let us allow them to use NFA facilities. The farmers need all the help especially that another supertyphoon is coming and they have not even recovered from Ondoy and Pepeng.”
Legarda lamented that in times of crisis, “our government is paralyzed by government policies. Our functionaries cannot think beyond their assigned duties and inform their higher-ups what to do to help our farmers, the producers of our food. Look at those heroes in the flood, what they did to save others. When what was at stake was life itself, they did the impossible and unthinkable solutions, even treading electric cables and building makeshift boats from discarded wood.”
Legarda suggested the idea of easing up credit for farmers and fisherfolk this season by using a part of the additional calamity fund and donations from abroad as guarantee for concessional credit.
“Lending to our poor farmers and fisherfolk with concessional terms is better than giving them outright grants during this critical time. We are receiving donations for the poor from all over the world. Let us use this to help them,” she said.
Addressing concerns about potential distortions in the credit market and future default by food producers, Legarda said this was why the oversight committee wants to pass the National Agriculture and Fisheries Extension System.
“We want the local extension workers to help our farmers and fisherfolk to produce profitably using modern technologies that will give them higher yield and help them pay their loans. We just have to trust that we will not go through the same mistakes in the past because our people have learned their lessons,” she explained.
“Farmers want to buy their dryers and mobile millers, even their own certified seeds and fertilizers. Let us make them autonomous decision-makers. But let our extension workers do their job of showing the farmers and fisherfolk the best options in technologies and markets and guiding them how to be disciplined in repaying loans,” she said.
She vowed to present the proposal to the Land Bank of the Philippines during the upcoming consultations with the agriculture sector.
“Maybe we do not have to distort the lending rates, but only allow deferred payments,” she said