Food security in the Philippines is threatened not only by unrestricted importation of rice and other food but also by the continuous expansion of commercial plantations for export.
According to the Union of Agricultural Workers, the government must not only scrap importation policies like the Rice Liberalization Law (RLL), which harm farmers, but also stop the expansion of commercial plantations geared toward export.
“Bureaucrats and businessmen contradict themselves,” UMA national chairperson Ariel “Ka Ayik” Casilao said. “They pretend to worry about the country’s food security, but they want to plant crops not fit for local consumption.”
The group condemned Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri’s proposed Corporate Farming Act, filed in tandem with the National Land Use Act, which aims to convert parcels of agricultural land for other uses.
“Such measures would facilitate corporate land-grabbing, give it a legal veneer in the form of agribusiness venture arrangements, and give compradors and imperialists free rein over what crops to prioritize over rice and vegetables,” the group said.
It also condemned Rhodora Romero-Aldemita from the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications Inc’ recent proposal for the use of genetically modified crops to allegedly boost agricultural production for export.
What is the point of stopping importation if farms will still be sacrificed and converted into plantations for pineapple, banana, palm oil, and other export products, the group asked.
