This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. V, No. 42, November
27-Dcember 3, 2005
75% of Benguet Farmers Earn
Less Due to Liberalization
Since the start of vegetable importation in 2002, about three-fourths of Benguet
farmers have been incurring incomes barely enough to provide for their family’s
needs.
BY LYN V. RAMO BAGUIO CITY (246 kilometers from Manila) —
Since the start of vegetable importation in 2002, about three-fourths of Benguet
farmers have been incurring incomes barely enough to provide for their family’s
needs. Prof. Ruth Sidchogan-Batani
of the Tebtebba Foundation Research Desk presented her paper on the impact of
the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) under the General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade (GATT) in the Study Session on Indigenous Women and the Convention on the
Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) at the Pines
View Hotel here. She said that a study among
Benguet farmers before and after vegetable importation showed that around 75% of
them earn incomes that are not enough to support their households. Majority of the respondents
claimed that before July 2002 when vegetable importation was not yet allowed,
they were earning enough. Batani also cited a
separate report from the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) which
highlighted a negative 3 percent performance of semi-temperate vegetables and
fruits grown in Benguet and Mountain Province in 2002. Her study showed that prior
to allowing vegetable importation in July 2002, only 4.76 percent of vegetable
farmers studied earned P5,000 to P10,000 ($92.34 to $184.67, based on an
exchange rate of P54.15 per U.S. dollar) monthly but earners in this bracket
rose to 47.61 percent after importation. Before July 2002, 38.08
percent of respondents earned lower than P50,000 ($923.36). After July 2002,
83.32% earned less than P50,000 ($923.36). While 61.88 percent of
respondents earned more than P50,000 before July 2002, only 2.38 percent earned
higher than P50,000 after July 2002. Batani’s respondents point
to vegetable importation as the main reason for the substantial decrease in
income. She stressed, “The entry of the Philippines into the globalization
bandwagon, specifically in the Agreement on Agriculture in 1995 put the
vegetable industry on a very weakened and uncertain position.” The Department of
Agriculture admitted that high-value crops like potatoes and cabbages will have
an uncertain future due to competition from imported produce. Liberalization, according
to Batani, started to be felt in 2002 with the sudden drop in prices of
vegetables from Benguet and Mt. Province at a time when these were supposed to
command better prices. “This (vegetable
importation) is a concrete expression of the negative effects of the country’s
entry into the World Trade Organization via the AoA,” Batani stressed.
Similarly, Mila Lingbawan,
Apit Tako’s (Alliance of Peasants in the Cordillera Homeland) deputy
secretary-general, agreed with Batani that importation has adversely influenced
vegetable farmers. However, Lingbawan said that the AoA is also manifested in
the high price of agricultural inputs like fertilizers and pesticides, as well
as equipment and other farm implements. Lingbawan said that because
of import liberalization, there is no limit to the volume of imported
agricultural products entering our shores. “Dati may tariff
duties ang mga imported goods, ngayon, libre na ang mga itong pumasok,”
(Before, the government collects tariff duties on all imported goods, now
these enter freely) Lingbawan explained. Apit Tako Chairperson
Julian Gayumba, a farmer from Mankayan. Benguet, said that farmers in Barangay
(village) Bulalakaw dumped tons of lettuce in the second quarter this year and
utilized other farm produce as fertilizers because they could not compete with
very low farm gate prices of their produce. During the strike at
Lepanto Consolidated Mining Corporation, Mankayan farmers supported the striking
workers by giving free vegetables. “Maymayat ta nakatulong
kadagiti pamilya ti mangmangged ngem ti malungtot no saan ket malugi pay iti
linnakuan,” (It is better to help the
strikers’ families than for the vegetables to rot or be sold at a losing price
in the market) Gayumba said. Meanwhile, some farmers are
trying to revert to organic farming in reaction to the increasing cost of farm
inputs. Apit Tako interviewed farmers on organic farming and found that it takes
at least three years for farmers to regain soil fertility. “Dakkel a sakripisyo
daytoy,” (This entails a great
sacrifice) a farmer said, adding that the yield may be less in the first few
years of the implementation. However, he is optimistic that organic farming
would be beneficial to both farmers and the environment. Batani’s research covered
three communities, namely Loo and Togtogyong in Buguias town, and Paoay in Atok,
all in Benguet . Participants in the study
session on IP women and CEDAW included delegates from Cambodia, India,
Indonesia, Laos, Mongolia, Nepal, Thailand, Timor Leste, Vietnam and the
Philippines. Northern Dispatch/Posted by Bulatlat © 2005 Bulatlat
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Northern Dispatch
Posted by Bulatlat