Breaking Monopolies, Reversing Liberalization Can End Rice Crisis in Philippines

Gov’t Urged to Discontinue Bankrupt Agri Laws

State Intervention on Rice Industry Needed, Satur Insists

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PUBLISHED ON April 5, 2008 AT 11:49 AM

Despite its import injections, the NFA’s limited distribution because of its minimal palay procurement also prevents the NFA from influencing retail rice prices. In fact, the NFA has distributed an annual average of only 6% of the nation’s rice requirements, and much of the rice distributed is even imported.

Ending Monopolies

The presence of a rice cartel is only part of the monopoly control of land and capital in Philippine rice production, trade, and marketing. It is a manifestation of the chronic rice crisis in the Philippines, which is aggravated and reinforced by neoliberal policies adhered to by the Philippine government.

There are doable measures to solve the chronic rice crisis the country. One step that government should do is to regain control of the trade and marketing of palay and rice to break the monopoly control of cartels. The country should also break away from binding agreements that government made to the GATT-WTO and reinstate agricultural tariffs while increasing support to Filipino farmers. Ultimately the crisis could be resolved by implementing a genuine agrarian reform program that do not only provide free distribution of land to farmers, but also provides input and capital subsidies, and investments in post-harvest facilities that will help end land monopoly. IBON Features/PinoyPress

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FOBBDeep: Fear of a Brown Blogger » Blog Archive » Got Rice? Says:
April 12th, 2008 at 7:54 am
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Breaking Monopolies, Reversing Liberalization Can End Rice Crisis in Philippines

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