Rice gods may yet hear self-sufficiency mantra

MUñOZ, Nueva Ecija – As perennial as the grass called rice, the mantra for self sufficiency in the politically volatile staple is being chanted once again.

To grow all of its rice needs, the Philippines must up harvests from 15.77 million tons in 2010 to 21.12 million tons in 2013.

Meaning, to be rice self-sufficient, production needs to increase by 5.35 million tons of paddy rice – all in just three years.

So, can it be done this time? Rice researchers may just have the science to bring self-sufficiency around.

"We can do it by 2013," Ronilo A. Beronio, executive director of the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), tells Malaya Business Insight. "It’s doable given the right amount of resources, timely implementation of programs, and cooperation from the rice industry stakeholders."

The Philippines, which is 80 percent self-sufficient, is already the world’s eighth largest producer of milled rice; it produced 10.08 million tons in the last cropping, in 2009/10, says Dr. Flordeliza Bordey who heads the Impact Evaluation, Policy Research and Advocacy Program at PhilRice.

"Our paddy rice production has been increasing in the last 10 years," she adds.

The problem is simple: farmers can barely cope with the appetite of 94 million Filipinos, each on average eating 120 kilograms of rice a year. That’s about 11.79 million tons in 2009/10 against the 10.08 million tons produced then.

In addition to food, seeds, processing, feeds and wastes, the country also needs an inventory of about 3 million tons by end of June 30, right before the lean months, to stabilize the price of milled rice, Bordey says.

"Our local supply has not been enough to meet the growing national demand in recent years due to increasing population and per capita consumption," Bordey explains. "As a result, the Philippines has become the number one rice importer in the world for the crop years 2007/08 and 2009/10."

Rice self-sufficiency is not only politically correct, it’s urgent: most of the world’s rice is consumed where they are grown and only a small part of it is traded.

Rice exports are cornered by just five countries: Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan, India and the United States, and rice trading is often a political decision.

That happened in 2008 when the world food crisis drastically boosted the price of rice because of the panic buying by importing countries – and after producing countries clamped export bans to protect their own supplies.

And traditional rice-eating countries that do not have enough rice must now compete with rising demand in Africa.

"With the intensifying adverse impacts of climate change, even our traditional import sources may no longer be reliable suppliers as early as within the medium term, as agricultural production systems in these countries are as vulnerable as ours," Bordey says.

The Food Staples Self-Sufficiency Road Map for 2011-2016, which has been submitted by the Department of Agriculture (DA) to President Aquino with the endorsement of the Departments of Finance and Budget, proposes an investment of P141.94 billion to boost production, much of that for irrigation.

This year, P17.61 billion (12 percent) will be put in place; P40.12 billion (28 percent) is alloted for next year; P31.12 billion (22 percent) the next; P22.73 billion (16 percent) in 2014; P17.55 billion (12%) by 2015; and P12.82 billion (9 percent) in 2016.

Irrigation gets the largest slice at 69 percent but still lower from the NIA’s historical allocations in recent years. The big difference is the frontloading of NIA budget in 2012 and 2013 so that irrigation impacts immediately.

Every peso invested is doubled if full target production is realized, Bordey says.

There are practical and easier ways, said than done anyway, to boost rice sufficiency. Promoting unpolished or brown rice could increase the milling recovery by 5 kilograms; 100 kg of palay can produce 70 kg of brown rice compared to 65 kg of white rice.

Eliminating 14 grams of milled rice or 3 tablespoons of cooked rice wasted by each of 94 million Filipinos every day means saving 480,000 tons of rice a year – enough to feed 4 million Filipinos for one whole year.

Then there are the usual initiatives like post harvest facilities, research, development, and extension of appropriate technologies, mechanization and so on – and policy reforms in the importation and procurement of rice.

Beronio believes the country should import just the amount of rice it needs, which the government has pegged at 800,000 tons to a million tons this year.

"A large part of the self-sufficiency target relies on the response of farmers to good prices at the time of harvests," he observes.

This hinges on the procurement by NFA which should steadily increase up to 10 percent in 2013, he says.

"The timely announcement to import less will encourage farmers to increase planting areas and procure more inputs like fertilizers to increase yields," he adds, "all because they are assured of good prices."

This is happening with onions right now, he points out. "The mere pronouncement by the DA not to approve onion importations drove the prices up and remained there to the benefit of the farmers.

"So, even if the government does not do anything else for rice except to assure excellent palay prices for the farmers, production could kick up beginning this year," Beronio says. "It is actually happening already."

(Source: http://www.malaya.com.ph/mar28/agri1.html)