The webinar will be aired live via the Facebook pages of Davao Today and Masipag Mindanao on Monday, October 19, from 2:30pm to 4pm (PHL time).
Filipino farmers are barely making ends meet as the buying price of locally grown rice continues to drop to as low as P10 per kilo in some areas in the country. They have already warned on the expected downtrend of palay prices due to the implementation of Republic Act No. 11203 or Rice Tariffication Law (RTL), which many have deemed as liberalization of the country’s rice industry.
RA 11203 was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte in February 2019. It aims to remove qualitative restrictions on rice importation. While government agencies are calling on the Filipinos to give this law a chance, local farmers are calling on the government for intervention as their situation is further aggravated with the Coronavirus pandemic.
‘Rice Talks’
As the nation observes the Peasant Month this October, the Bantay Bigas and Masipag Mindanao organize a webinar entitled “Rice Talks” to discuss with local farmers about the real situation on the ground, a year after RA 11203 was enacted.
The event, co-hosted by Davao Today, will happen on Monday, October 19, from 2:30pm to 4pm (PHL time).
Bantay Bigas national spokesperson Cathy Estavillo will provide updates on the legislative push to repeal the RTL while Masipag Mindanao regional coordinator Leo XL Fuentes will present their study on the impacts of RTL on Mindanao farmers before the COVID-19 pandemic affected the country.
In South Cotabato, considered to be Mindanao’s rice granary, farmers will share their struggle to compete with the more affordable imported rice.
Educator and political analyst Christian Lloyd Espinoza will moderate the panel discussion.
The webinar will be aired live via the Facebook pages of Masipag Mindanao and Davao Today.
Should you have concerns or questions you wanted to discuss during the open forum, kindly contact the organizers at mindanao@masipag.org.
