(Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)

The "alarming" closures of small-scale rice and corn mills in over 1,000 barangays in the country in the past decade must be looked into by the House of Representatives.

AGRI Party-list Rep. Wilbert T. Lee, a senatorial aspirant, filed for this House Resolution (HR) No.2150.

Lee said a congressional inquiry on the matter must also include an assessment of the impact of these closures to Filipinos' livelihood and on national food security. 

“Nakakabahala ang pagsasara ng mga rice and corn millers sa napakaraming barangay sa bansa na hindi nakasabay sa pagdagsa ng mas murang imported na produkto sa merkado. Marami na naman nating magsasaka ang apektado ang kabuhayan at kita sa mga pagsasarang ito,” Lee said. 

(The closure of these numerous rice and corn millers from all over the country as a result of the influx of cheaper imported rice in the market is alarming. A lot of our farmers would have their livelihood and profits affected by these closures.)

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), there were 15,436 barangays with rice and corn mills in 2023. This is lower by 6.3 percent compared to the 16,476 recorded in 2013.

AGRI Party-list says it's imperative for local authorities to investigate the reason behind the shuttering of these establishments.or else risk losing more rice and corn millers.

“Kung magpapatuloy ito, bababa pa ang kita ng ating mga lokal na magsasaka, mawawalan sila ng gana, at bababa ang produksyon na siya namang magpapalayo sa katuparan ng food security sa bansa,” it added.

(If this continues, the profits of local farmers will further dwindle, leaving them unmotivated, with reduced production much to te detriment of the country's food security.)

The resolution says there is a need to scrutinize the effectiveness of current government programs and interventions to support the development of local rice and corn industries and determine short-term and long-term interventions to put an end to the closure of these mills. 

“With small-scale rice and corn mills closing despite recurring calls to elevate the state of the country’s agriculture sector, the government needs to recalibrate its policies so progress can be felt by our local food producers,” stressed the party-list.  

AGRI Party-list has long been fighting for more support for post-harvest facilities for farmers through its persistent calls to increase the budget for these needed facilities and agricultural equipment during budget deliberations.