Farmers belonging to the Philippine Maize Federation Inc. (PhilMaize) have once again called on the government to allow them to export corn. PhilMaize Chairman emeritus Roderico R. Bioco said recently Filipino farmers want to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the export market. He noted that farmers can ship corn to neighboring Southeast Asian countries, such as Indonesia, during their lean season, or periods when they do not harvest corn.
Farmers could not export corn because of Presidential Decree (PD) 4 signed in September 1972. PD 4 created the National Grains Authority, now known as the National Food Authority (NFA). The decree abolished the Rice and Corn Board, which regulated the rice and corn retail trade, and the Rice and Corn Administration, which was tasked to market or distribute government rice, especially during the lean season. The agency’s mission was to promote the “integrated growth and development” of the grains industry covering rice, corn, feed grains and other grains like sorghum, mongo and peanut.
The Philippines has not yet achieved rice self-sufficiency and the latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed the self-sufficiency ratio (SSR) for corn is still below 100 percent. The SSR, according to the PSA, is the extent to which a country’s supply of commodities is derived from its own domestic production. But PhilMaize believes that corn self-sufficiency is already within reach, especially since farmers are increasingly using the high-yielding Bacillus thuringiensis corn.
However, PD 4 effectively prevents corn farmers from tapping the export market. Under the decree, the NFA is tasked to directly undertake the export of rice, corn and other grains whenever there is excess in production or supply. However, the NFA Council—the NFA’s governing body—must first certify the existence of such excess production or supply, after consulting the Office of the President.
The decree was crafted at a time when production was still scarce and the government still had to make significant inroads into improving output. But Bioco and other PhilMaize officials said times have changed, and the country’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) should have been reason enough to abolish this decree. Coupled with the regional trade deals entered into by the Philippine government, which allowed commodities to flow freely into the country, PD 4 is an obsolete decree that puts Filipino farmers at a disadvantage.
Currently, there are efforts to amend a law that allowed the government to impose quantitative restrictions (QR), or import caps, on rice. Bills seeking to amend Republic Act (RA) 8178, or the Agricultural Tarrification Act, include a provision that would remove the need for a certification of a surplus before farmers could export rice or corn. Lawmakers are rushing the passage of the bill seeking to amend RA 8178 because the Philippines has committed to scrap the QR on rice by June 30, 2017.
Lawmakers must see to it that the new law would remove the need for a certification that the country has surplus rice or corn before farmers can export their produce. In fact, all Filipino farmers must be allowed to access the export market to assure them of a higher income. A country that has embraced liberal trade by joining the WTO should no longer implement a decree like PD 4.