THE National Federation of Peasant Women (Amihan) expressed concern over the proposed rice competitiveness enhancement fund or Rice Fund under a bill that will remove the quantitative restriction on rice.
The proposed Rice Fund, contained in a bill that seeks to amend Republic Act (RA) 8178, will come from the duties collected from rice importation.
The fund will be directed to six components including rice endowment fund, farm equipment/mechanization grants, rice-crop finance, postharvest development, rice scholarships and vocational education and research and development.
“The P27-billion projected annual revenue from the Rice Fund is not a guarantee that it will suffice (for) the needs of the farmers that will be affected by the massive importation. It also does not guarantee that small rice farmers would benefit from it especially that the farmers have suffered from the long history of corruption scandals,” Amihan chairperson Zen Soriano said.
“Will that amount of money be enough to cover the loss of livelihood of thousands of farmers? Will this government be willing to provide for the needs of the rice farmers that will be affected by the liberalization of the rice industry when it consistently denied farmers of accessible and adequate support services?” Soriano said.
She raised apprehension that the fund will only serve as a "milking cow" by bureaucrats, microfinance institutions, and agricultural cooperatives at the expense of the poor peasants.
"We will never forget the experience of our fellow farmers who have been victims of deceit and plunder through the Fertilizer Fund, Coco Levy Fund, tobacco excise tax, and the Priority Development Assistance Fund,” Soriano added. (PR)