> Bad year
for producers
Over and over again, Kabikolan, in year 2005, had been pictured in
superlative terms as a rousing success, food-production-wise. To
top it all, a lady farmer from Baao, Camarines Sur caught national
prominence after having been tagged as “number one” rice producer
all over the country—besting farmers from other parts of Luzon and
even the Visayas and Mindanao.
One swallow, however, does not a summer make, so the saying goes.
To put it bluntly, it does not follow that just because a farmer
from the region got recognized as the outstanding farmer of the
year, all other food producers hit the jackpot, too. This,
notwithstanding the use of government-encouraged “hybrid”
varieties of palay seeds. It may be true that some were lucky for
having had a high yield. And yet, the painful truth is most of the
farmers still continue to moan and are complaining for having been
easily swayed by agriculture technicians to avail of the so-called
“Gloria” hybrid rice varieties.
It turned out that the variety—particularly Gloria 8SL, which the
Department of Agriculture distributed to the farmers , in Pamplona
and Libmanan towns of Camarines Sur in particular, was not really
disease-free. The farmers were lured into buying the variety on
easy terms, because of its low cost of Php550.00 only per bag
containing eighteen kilos.
At its initial stage the government-endorsed rice variety offered
a lot of promise. It turned out later on that the variety was
prone to diseases—especially what the local folks call “tungro.”
The variety was also very frail during rainy days, such that even
those stalks not affected by “tungro” had more bran than rice
cereals.
Even rice traders confirm this very discouraging story. Some said
that those who planted a not so popular variety locally known as
“bulaw” had better harvests. Not only that.They got not less than
fifty centavos per kilo add on , compared to the price of the
hybrid variety harvested. Reason? The hybrid variety was prone to
rotting too fast, while “bulaw” was easier to stock, with its
clean features undiminished.
Another food-producing sector that suffered from a double whammy
are corn producers. It is to be recalled that in the later part of
year 2004, the region got hit by at least two typhoons, which
brought a lot of rain. Their adverse effects were felt by the corn
farmers in the early part of 2005. They had a very poor
harvest.The cost of land preparation became prohibitive because
those who availed of mechanized farming had to assume the terrible
impact of the endless rise in the cost of fuel, oil and
lubricants.
Worse, the cost of farm inputs jumped dramatically. Non organic
fertilizer’s price almost trebled, the cost of hybrid corn seeds
spiraled and a new kind of weed—locally known as “aroro” damaged a
lot of corn plantations. Meantime, the “liquid” fertilizer, now
subject of senate investigation, must have simply vanished into
the air. It did not afford any relief to the planters.
The most telling blow on the corn producers was man-made—courtesy
of traders. As one planter quipped, he suffered the severest
damage from the price manipulators! Imagine, the price per kilo of
corn last year slid by almost Php5.50, compared to the Php12 per
kilo price in 2004.
What is disturbing is the government never lifted a finger to help
the corn planters. To think that the DA, in early 2004, even put
up radio programs just to encourage corn planting!
Also left helpless are animal raisers. Not so much for those
engaged in poultry raising, particularly those in egg production.
Until now they enjoy a fair market atmosphere. Broiler production
got also an indirect boost , with the continuing news about bird
flu elsewhere outside of the country. Broilers also command a
reasonable price. This is due to contract growing, where broiler
producers get on credit the chicks, feeds and even technical
support. They are also assured of a just price at harvest time.
That is part of contract growing.
The situation is different though in hog raising. The cost of
production has been rising and yet the price of live hogs has
consistently been going down since September last year. What is
more disturbing is when it comes to pork, the price keeps on
increasing! Pork now costs as much as Php150 per kilo. And yet
live pigs are being bought as low as Php63 a kilo.
There seems to be a creeping combination among hog traders. Sinda
na sana an gustong mabuhay! Both the producers and consumers are
held hostage.
What makes matters worse is nobody in the government agencies
cares to remedy the situation.
