Peasant Group Asks for Moratorium in Land Rent, Other Relief

The militant peasant group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP or Peasant Movement of the Philippines) called on local government units and landlords to help the farmers most affected by the dry spells that hit the country, either in the form of assistance or a moratorium in land rent.

BY AUBREY MAKILAN
Bulatlat
Vol. VII, No. 26, August 5-11, 2007

The militant peasant group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP or Peasant Movement of the Philippines) called on local government units and landlords to help the farmers most affected by the dry spells that hit the country, either in the form of assistance or a moratorium in land rent.

Farmers as casualties

Since the Philippines is mainly an agricultural country and most of its freshwater goes to irrigation, the dry spells being experienced by the country hits the farmers the most, said KMP secretary general Danilo Ramos.

The KMP, in particular, asked local government units (LGUs) in Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog to help farmers who have been affected by the dry spell.

With the National Water Regulatory Board (NWRB) reducing the supply of water to irrigation, Ramos said, the Central Luzon farmers would be primarily affected particularly those in Pampanga and Bulacan. He said that most farmers in Central Luzon, including those in Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac, are still waiting for the rain so they could start planting. Ramos said that most fields of Central Luzon are already parched making planting difficult. The Central Luzon region is the rice granary of the country.

Willy Marbella, KMP internal deputy secretary general, said that low priced irrigation services are very much lacking in the country, thus their dependence on rain to water their crops.

“Farmers are really becoming the first casualties,” said Ramos, adding that the Macapagal-Arroyo regime has “neglected the agricultural sector from the start.”

Aside from the alleged non-implementation of the genuine land reform, Ramos said that agricultural services are also almost none existent. He added that his group has not seen the effect of the more than P3 billion ($65,445,026 at an exchange rate of $1=P45.84) released early this year for irrigation. According to KMP, it has a membership of two million in 65 provincial chapters nationwide.

And now with the statement of the Department of Budget and Management’s (DBM) that it would release another P8 billion ($174,520,069) for irrigation, Ramos said, it might be another “milking cow of Malacañang itself and its allies.”

“We are warning them that we are watching their every step. We are also calling on local government officials to help farmers cope with the drought,” said Ramos.

Moratorium

“For farmers, not being able to plant is a matter of life and death because it is their only livelihood and they will have nothing to eat. It will also greatly affect the food security of the country if nothing is done to help them,” said Marbella.

Because of the unfeasibility to till the parched land, the KMP called on the LGUs and landlords to implement a moratorium in collecting land rent for at least a year especially to those areas hit by the dry spell, like Pampanga, Bulacan and Isabela.

“This is the most humane thing to do considering that most of our farmers were not able to plant their crops, while the others who were able to, just saw their crops die due to the intense dry spell,” said Rafael “Ka Paeng” Mariano, KMP chair and Anakpawis (Toiling Masses) president.

Other relief

The KMP has reported some damages to farmers.

It said that affected areas included more than 400,000 hectares of corn field in Cagayan and more than 928,000 hectares of corn fields and 11,000 hectares of rice in Quirino province. In Isabela where more than 60 percent of all corn fields have already been affected, the group called on Gov. Grace Padaca to intervene and help the peasants.

Aside from the moratorium on land rent, the group also asked for a debt relief for at least a year “to ease the burden for farmers, so that they can concentrate on finding ways to plant their crops, without worrying too much that their debt is increasing by the day.”

Mariano also said LGUs can give relief and support services to farmers like credit incentives.

The peasant group also asked Governors Ed Panlilio and John Mendoza to help Central Luzon farmers by buying pumps for groups or cooperatives to help improve their irrigation system. The KMP also requested for some temporary livelihood to some farmers who really cannot plant because of the dry spell.

“It is the food security of the nation that is at stake here and we must do all we can to address it,” he said.(Bulatlat.com)

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