MANILA (UCAN): On January 25, around 120 Filipino farmers protesed in front of the Department of Agriculture in the Philippine capital of Manila calling for the government to put an end to their plight caused by soaring food and fuel prices. Among the protesters, 32 had walked about 80 kilometres from the province of Pampanga, north of the city, the join the demonstration.
The protest was organised by the Association of Peasants of Northern Philippines [APNP], a farmers’ group representing about 1,000 farmers in the northern provinces.
The farmers demanded immediate government intervention to reduce the price of vegetables including onions and fuel. They carried placards emblazoned with their demands of the administration of the president, Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., who is also secretary of the Department of Agriculture.
“During the campaign for the presidency, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., promised that he would make sure the price of rice would drop to 20 pesos (US$.36) per kilo. But now, everything has become very expensive, the price of rice has soared to almost 70 pesos [$9.65] per kilo,” one farmer, Nilo Deogracias, pointed out.
We need fuel in our tractors and in our trucks when we transport our produce. Fuel has become a very high-cost commodity but we need it
Martin Cincua
Deogracias said each farmer gets lower than the daily minimum wage of 600 pesos [$82.68] and struggle to support their families.
“I still need to pay for my electric bills and the education of my children. Nothing is left… I have three children and I am not even sure if I can send them to college. I can only afford to send them until high school,” he lamented.
Marcos Jr. said that he ordered for importing of rice and onions to solve soaring inflation, which now stands at 5.8 per cent. He allowed for the import of 21,060 metric tons of onions.
“The move [importation] will normalise the price of food in the market. Our farmers might take a hit but it is temporary, we need to make difficult choices,” Marcos told reporters on January 26.
On January 21, some 1,200 tons of onions entered the country, with about half cleared for distribution to markets or institutional buyers, according to the Bureau of Plant Industry.
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According to the Philippine Information Agency, the price of onions surged in the Philippines to around 700 pesos [$96.46] per kilogramme in January, higher than the equivalent weight in meat and the daily minimum wage.
I still need to pay for my electric bills and the education of my children. Nothing is left… I have three children and I am not even sure if I can send them to college. I can only afford to send them until high school
Nilo Deogracias
A kilogramme of chicken costs about 175 pesos [$24], beef 400 pesos [$55], and pork is sold at 380 pesos [$52] per kilogramme.
Marcos Jr. also directed the agriculture department to expedite the entry of 64,050 tons of refined sugar via the minimum access volume mechanism in response to supply chain issues involving the commodity.
He vowed to maintain a two-month buffer to lower the retail price and prevent future shortages.
However, Deogracias, speaking for the farmers’ association said, “Importation is not the solution. We were not even consulted before the agriculture department made the decision. Thus, lower prices would actually kill our industry. What is important is to have a long-term plan.”
The farmers also decried the soaring price of fuel that added cost in the production and transportation of agricultural products.
“We need fuel in our tractors and in our trucks when we transport our produce. Fuel has become a very high-cost commodity but we need it,” one farmer from Bulacan, Martin Cincua, said.
We have signed an agreement with them that we will purchase tons of onions from them, then we will sell them in the local market. There is very little margin for profit but at least it supports the farmers
Father Joseph Layres
The current price for diesel is 65 pesos [$8.90) per litre while regular gasoline is 62 pesos [$8.50], compared to 58 pesos [$8] per litre for diesel and 50 pesos [$6.90] per litre of gasoline in 2022.
Caritas Philippines teamed up with Catholic foundations to buy local farmers’ produce in bulk to distribute vegetables at cheaper prices in local markets like in the Diocese of Sorsogon and the Archdiocese of Dagupan in Pangasinan province.
“We have signed an agreement with them that we will purchase tons of onions from them, then we will sell them in the local market. There is very little margin for profit but at least it supports the farmers,” Caritas treasurer, Father Joseph Layres, said.
The Jesuit-run Tanging Yaman Foundation has also begun selling onions and sugar at half the running market price, especially in poorer communities in the country’s capital, according to Jesuit Father Manoling Francisco, the foundation’s chairperson.
Most of the Philippines’ estimated 114 million people live in rural areas, according to government data. About 36 per cent of the total employed population is engaged in the agricultural sector.
