At P20.40 a kilo, a farmer will net P33,355 average per hectare, based on a 2018 season cost-returns study on rice production by the government, the lawmaker said. But at P12 a kilo, “wala siyang kita as in zero (he earns nothing),” he pointed out. He said some rice production inputs might have increased this year on account of lockdowns, which have made transportation more difficult and expensive. Rice, Recto added, accounts for 18 percent of value produced by Philippine agriculture. Recto said the DA should study to what extent imports are depressing farm prices, “and call for the pulling of the brakes if needed.”

Source: Manila Times September 28, 2020 16:07 UTC