Ph self-sufficient in rice
BY PET MELLIZA/ THE BEEKEEPER The Philippines can be self-sufficient in rice even this year — officials and militant farmers hint. All that is needed is reduce importation and shoot down smuggling. Agriculture secretary Proceso Alcala sees that for real, thus his petition to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2011 to extend the “quantitative restriction” (QR) on rice imports. Backing him is Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) general secretary Danilo Ramos who fumes at the Obama administration for blocking that move. The United States under Pres. Barack Obama opposes the Philippine request. China supports the country’s WTO petition despite the tension on the Spratleys. The WTO has granted the Philippines minimum access volume (MAV) of 350,000 metric tons (MT) for rice importation but the Macapagal-Arroyo administration opened the floodgates to foreign rice since 2001, capping that in 2010 with a deluge 2.45 million metric tons that hurt Filipino farmers. ...