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PRESS RELEASE
Rice NGO pushes for increased social protection for farmers
Non-government organization Rice Watch and Action Network (R1) today urged the House of Representatives and the Senate to allocate P830 million from the 2010 agriculture budget for social protection to help the farmers cope and recover from the impact of extreme weather conditions due to global warming.
“The lessons of devastations brought about by the last two typhoons, especially Pepeng are clear markings on the walls both for the government and the Filipinos’ capacity to respond to the threats of climate change. The poor farmers will always be helpless victims unless the government prioritizes social protection for the farmers,” said Jessica Reyes-Cantos, R1 lead convenor.
R1 submitted its agriculture budget proposal, along with the other proposals of the Social Watch Philippines’ Alternative Budget Initiative (ABI), to Rep. Junie Cua, chair of the House Committee on Appropriations.
Cantos said their proposal focused on community-based and indigenous rain water collection through Small Water-Impounding Project (SWIP). Each costs P50,000 that may be placed in every hectare of rice land. R1 proposed that the government provide SWIP for 10,000 hectares amounting to a total of P500 million.
“We do not want to see a major irrigation project becoming useless for lack of water during the dry season while water is wasted as runoff during the wet season. We have seen palay waiting for harvest lay wasted after being submerged in flooded farms due to intense rains during the rainy months. On the other hand, the threat of El Niño during the dry season will lead to soil desertification, leaving the soil virtually useless for planting,” explained Cantos.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) reported yesterday that damage to the agriculture sector caused by tropical storm “Ondoy” and typhoon “Pepeng” has reached P10 billion.
About 35,207 hectares were reportedly completely damaged while 150,558 hectares may recover. The Value of destroyed harvestable palay is close to P5 billion, while investment of farmers who lost crops in seedling/vegetative stage amounts to P81 million.
Initial studies conducted by R1 found that the effects of climate change can be neutralized by a simple change in the farming system. Some experts consulted by R1 recommended possible adjustment in the cropping calendar, appropriate extension work to increase the farmers’ resiliency against the vagaries of the weather, and direct soil fertilization to manage the deficiency in soil nutrients due to massive chemical fertilization and pesticide inputs.
R1 proposed additional funding for PHILRICE worth P250 million to create a Task Force on Climate Change that will cover training costs, resource persons, module and training materials addressing 30 rice-producing provinces.
“Farmers experienced crop losses, low yields and even greater pest infestations brought about by these extreme climatological events. This may potentially lead to higher grain prices that will also endanger their livelihood,” Cantos said.
Also included in the agriculture budget proposal of R1 are adequate funding for crop insurance with easier access to small farmers, elimination of the subsidies for hybrid seeds and to seriously assess the effectiveness of devolved agriculture extension services among the local government units.
REFERENCE: Jessica Reyes-Cantos 0917-3200007
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