Filipino Rice Farmers Facing Poverty And Tragedy in Their Lives

By Michael John Pulma

11-Del Mundo

Rice production started thousands of years ago in the Philippines. In fact, the rice
terraces that were built in Banaue some 3,000 years ago were built specifically for rice
cultivation by the inhabitants. There is no sign that in the lives and culture of people who
rely on them in the future, rice will be much less important. According to BusinessMirror,
palay's average cost of production is at P12 per kilo. In other rice-growing parts of the
country, people from the mountains say some greedy wholesalers buy farm-gate palay at
just P8 per kilo, stealthily citing what's happening in some parts of Luzon. For all the
farmer that has done to us, why do some people like the upperclassmen still isn’t
acknowledging enough the sufferings of every farmers? Why don’t they make a move?
For example, giving them a higher wage or even donating them food or give them
allowance. Why do this kind of things isn’t possible to do? Is it because money?

As what the BusinessMirror stated, the production cost of every kilo that the farmers
gathered will only cost P12 per kilo of rice, not to mention the greedy wholesalers that
BusinessMirror is trying to expose that is only paying farmers at P8 per kilo of rice. This
farmers of our own, farmers that helped fed our country, exposed themselves to the sun,
and always gets wet by gathering what we call rice, our essential food of our lives, and
not to mention that they’re still humans of course they will eventually get ill someday
because of their hard work, and yet this farmers only get P12 per kilo of rice. A kilo of rice
takes longer than expected. It takes 50-55 days for the rice to be able to harvest, not to
mention that in a full growing process of rice may not be perfect at all, because it might
be destroyed by pests or a natural disaster like typhoons. Farmers wait for that long of
process in order to produce rice and yet they the government or should I say the higher
upperclassmen won’t take any action or just a few fractions of taking action to solve the
poverty of every farmer in the country.

Inquirer’s Ernesto M. Ordoñez stated, that it is a problem when most of our 2,4 million
rice farmers under the rice tariff law suffer from the weak 35% tariff. In short, only 65% of
the total income will be handed over to the Filipino farmers. Many farmers have been
suffering dew to the suffering of unescapable poverty. The effects of this is hunger,
frustration, lack of education, illness, and maybe death. This also causes to make the
prices of our rice in the Philippines higher because of this horrendous tariff law that makes
the tax go up higher. Farmers have been putting all their effort, all their hardships to
produce rice which is our best pairing food to other food that we Filipinos eat. And yet, we
treat them as if they have done so small to the country.

Farmers haven’t been so in the spotlight in every senate discussion, instead what
do they do? They survey people on where they will put the Malacañang next, they discuss
on making new building for senate (that’s even impossible because the surroundings and
the traffic also), and even giving a big fuss about on renaming the fish Lapu-Lapu. Like
this stuff, is not helpful at all to the country and its agriculture. And when they want to
move, on helping the farmers, the topic is always calm like its not even a huge problem,
but instead the media itself always finds a way to make a spotlight on this problem, and
yes, their were many actions around the government all this and that but, the thing is,
they’re all just say and say, they don’t take any further actions. Make our farmers feel
proud on what they do and what they produce. Our farmers may not be our hero or
“bayani” that fought in war, and by fought writing, but they’re the heroes or “bayani” that
made our belly full. They’re the heroes of our agriculture in this country.
 Bibliography

https://ricematters.wordpress.com/2011/06/02/history-of-rice/

https://businessmirror.com.ph/2019/09/12/the-tragedy-of-the-filipino-rice-farmers/

https://psa.gov.ph/ricosit-main

https://business.inquirer.net/277852/defend-our-rice-farmers-now

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice