Manila, Philippines – Today as the nation faces the threat of a widespread COVID-19 outbreak, we are also potentially facing another problem as a result of extreme social distancing measures and LGU boundary lockdowns, the threat of a food crisis. Further aggravating the situation are recent announcements of Vietnam and Thailand of rice export suspension. We need to act fast to secure our own food supply by our food producers.
We, the Filipino farmers and fishers, are calling on the national government to immediately respond and come up with concrete and practical solutions to such threat.
The Department of Agriculture’s (DA) Memorandum Circular No. 9 (DA MC 9), on the unhampered movement of those involved in food production and distribution, is a welcome development. However, more than a week into its implementation, there is still a wide gap between the DA MC 9 and the local government unit’s appreciation of its operationalization on the ground. There are still reports of produce from different provinces outside NCR that were not allowed to pass through checkpoints. It seems, despite the implementation of DA MC 9, most local checkpoints have no idea that food deliveries and their turn-around, are not to be hampered. The DA must address this immediate concern considering the urgency of the need for continuous food production and distribution.
The National Food Authority (NFA) must immediately distribute their buffer stock as food relief to those affected by the work stoppage and procure rice, at decent prices, from farmers who are harvesting in the coming weeks to restock the buffer supply of the country. Our law requires NFA to have at least 30 days of buffer stock of rice at any given time. Aside from securing our supply of staple, this will also provide income for rice farmers who were disenfranchised by the Rice Tariffication Law.
The DA and the relevant offices should expedite the delivery of services funded by the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF). The rice farmers will need the support for mechanization, seeds, financing, and extension services to ensure optimum production of rice not only for this lockdown period but also for the rest of the year.
Apart from prioritizing the repair of our irrigation system in the rice-producing regions, the Government must protect all irrigated and non-irrigated agricultural lands from opportunistic land developers who prey on agricultural lands for conversion. We will need all the available agricultural lands for food production. Any attempt to capitalize on converting farmlands to residential and commercial use must be swiftly dealt with. The DA should also rethink its irrigation program to include other crops within a sustainable framework. A rational water utilization framework should prioritize agricultural use.
The DA should provide support for the operationalization of Fish Landing Centers. Coastal local government units should rethink their budgets to provide support for these facilities, as artisanal fishers depend on them for fish production, storage, and processing. Through the LGUs, the DA’s KADIWA program should consider directly purchasing fishery products from artisanal fishers. By doing so, KADIWA will be able to offer fishery products to urban consumers at affordable prices.
We also call on the government to secure our Exclusive Economic Zone in the West Philippine Sea to ensure fish stocks. The DA should convene the Fisheries Management Area boards to prepare long term plans for the protection and sustainable utilization of our ocean resources, considering that our oceans and seas are a major source of food.
Filipino farmers and fishers are the frontlines our food security especially at times of great of a challenge, so we urge the government to extend health services and social protection to all small farmers, fishers and all informal workers in the food supply chain. Healthy farmers, fishers, farmworkers, post-harvest personnel, food processors, truckers and food delivery personnel will help ensure that the country will be able to produce, process, store, and distribute food for all Filipinos.
LET’S ALL WORK TOGETHER TO FIGHT COVID-19 AT ALL FRONTS. FARMERS, FISHERS, AND WORKERS OF THE AGRICULTURE SECTOR NEED YOUR SUPPORT TO FEED AND NOURISH US THROUGH THIS FIGHT. SUPPORT OUR #PAGKAINFRONTLINERS!
Pambansang Kilusan ng mga Samahang Magsasaka (PAKISAMA)
LAKAMBINI Pilipinas Rural Women Association (LAKAMBINI)
Pambansang Katipunan ng mga Samahan sa Kanayunan (PKSK)
Federation of Coco Farmers and Farm Workers Association (FECOFFWA)
Kalipunan ng Maliliit na Magniniyog ng Pilipinas, Inc. (KAMMPIL)
Federation of Free Farmers (FFF)
Aniban ng mga Manggagawa at Magsasaka sa Niyugan, Inc. (AMMANI)
Kaisahan ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (KMA)
Aniban ng mga Magsasaka, Mangingisda at Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (AMMMA – Katipunan)
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