The administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. remains committed to increase the income of farmers and pursue higher productivity of the agriculture sector, NIA Administrator Eduardo Guillen said Saturday.
Guillen said these goals can be achieved through a whole-of-government approach.
He said the government is capitalizing on turning more irrigators’ associations (IAs) into cooperatives to allow more efficient distribution of interventions to farmers.
“Maganda po ang pagkakabuo ng irrigators’ association ng mga farmers natin sa buong bansa. So nag-capitalize kami dito,” Guillen said in a news forum in Quezon City.
“Ngayon, binubuo namin iyong ating mga IAs, mga farmers into cooperatives. Ito ay pagtalima doon sa utos ng ating Pangulo na dapat ma-capture ng mga farmers natin iyong whole value chain ng rice production. Hindi lamang magtatapos iyong kita nila doon sa time na magbenta sila ng palay,” he added.
Guillen said NIA is working with various agencies to improve the delivery of services and programs to farmers. They include the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PHilMech), Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) and the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA).
“So, holistic po talaga iyong approach natin, knowing na kapag hindi natin ito ginawa ay hindi siya magiging sustainable. Ang end goal ng program lagi is iyong sustainability,” he said.
Guillen said they are eyeing to provide a new rice processing system to be operated by a farmers’ cooperative formed from the Irrigators’ association.
This would address a long-standing issue in the agricultural sector where farmers’ incomes are calculated based on the sale of unprocessed palay, Guillen said in pointing out the old practice undervalues the potential earnings of farmers.
“Ito po kasi ang susi doon sa sinasabi niyang pagpapababa ng bigas nang hindi naman po mai-sacrifice iyong ating mga farmers. Kasi, kapag pinababa po natin ang presyo ng bigas kasabay noon isasakripisyo mo ang kita ng ating mga magsasaka,” he said.
The cost of producing hybrid rice is approximately PhP50,000 for every hectare, which then yields an average of eight tons per hectare in irrigated areas. This translates to a production cost of just PhP10 per kilogram of palay, Guillen explained.
Consolidating the lands of members of farmers’ group could potentially double their income.
“So, doblehin ko na iyon, bigyan mo na ng 100 percent na income si farmer. So, nasa PhP20 lang ang production cost talaga ng bigas na kita ng ating magsasaka,” he said. PND