Farmers under the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luzon and Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura led a picket protest at the Department of Agriculture (DA) this morning to oppose the Marcos administration’s continued reliance on rice importation, the shrinking of farmlands due to land conversion, and the lack of sufficient agricultural subsidies and compensation for farmers. Farmers are on the 3rd day of their protest camp-out outside the DAR Central Office.

As part of the protest, farmers will symbolically plant on cement bags to highlight the worsening loss of farmlands and the increasing difficulty of securing agricultural land for food production.

The protest comes as the DA is set to finalize a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Pakistan to import one million metric tons (MT) of milled rice — about a quarter of the country’s rice import needs — reportedly to secure supply and stabilize prices. The said rice import shipment is targeted to arrive in June.

Late last year, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. met with Pakistan’s Ambassador to Manila, Imtiaz Kazi, who proposed the incoming rice import shipment at a “competitive price.” It was the rice deal with Pakistan that prompted President Marcos Jr to extend the 15% reduced tariff on rice imports until the end of his term in 2028. KMP has earlier criticized the DA’s deal with Pakistan and rice importation policies

Farmers said that the government’s obsessive dependence on imported rice is bleeding farmers to death. “Reliance on rice importation has consistently proven to be a band-aid solution that fails to address the roots of rice prices volatility. Since the passage of the Rice Liberalization Law in 2019, the Philippines has become the world’s top rice importer, with local farmers suffering from depressed farm gate prices and expensive production costs.

Adding insult to injury, the Marcos Jr administration’s Build, Better, More infrastructure program has accelerated massive land conversion, threatening rice production and rural livelihoods. Based on KMP’s analysis of data from the latest Census on Agriculture and Fisheries (CAF), Central Luzon’s farmland area decreased from 446,176 hectares in 2012 to 363,906.859 hectares in 2022 — a loss of 82,269 hectares or an 18.44 percent decline. This significant reduction reflects the rapid pace of land conversion for urban development, infrastructure projects, and commercial expansion, with Central Luzon targeted as a key hotspot for private business-driven land use changes.

Farmers are demanding that the government immediately stop excessive rice importation and instead work to genuinely strengthen domestic rice production. KMP is also calling for increased agricultural subsidies, immediate compensation for losses incurred due to natural calamities, pests, and market price instability, and a halt to land conversion to protect the country’s agricultural lands devoted to food production and secure farmers’ livelihoods.

KMP asserts that the government’s continued push for rice importation while allowing land use conversion to erode the country’s agricultural base threatens national food security and undermines the dignity and survival of Filipino farmers. The protest aims to pressure the DA to reverse these damaging policies and provide significant support to local farmers.

Rice prices remain high despite repeated attempts to manage inflation through reduced tariffs and import liberalization. Executive Order No. 62, which slashed rice import tariffs to 15%, has failed to lower retail prices.

The KMP renews its call to repeal the Rice Liberalization Law, stop any plans for additional rice imports, and implement genuine agrarian reform while safeguarding agricultural land for food production. True food security cannot be attained through imports; it requires comprehensive support for local agriculture to ensure the Philippines achieves genuine food security. ###