Friday, May 09, 2008 [ manilatimes.net ]
By Darwin G. Amojelar, Reporter
To help address the shortfall in domestic rice production, the the government wants to declare all ricelands in the Philippines as protected areas.
During the National Land Use Committee (NLUC) meeting at the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) office on Thursday, Josyline Javelosa, assistant secretary of the Department of Agriculture, said her agency has submitted a proposal to the Office of the President to declare all ricelands in the country as protected areas.
Citing pertinent provisions in the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA), the Agriculture department wants to protect from land conversion all irrigated areas and all irrigable lands already covered by irrigation projects with firm funding commitments, and all alluvial plains highly suitable for agriculture.
Representatives from the department said the proposal is aimed at helping the country achieve rice self-sufficiency and help insulate the country from external food price shocks. NLUC members committed to further review Agriculture department’s proposal.
The Agriculture department and the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) has set a 95-percent target for domestic rice self-sufficiency by 2009 or 2010. Today, the country’s rice self-sufficiency is about 90 percent.
Marcelina Bacani, officer-in-charge deputy director general and current chairperson of NLUC, said there is already a policy on riceland conversion that has not been implemented.
“Sixteen years ago, an NLUC technical working group formulated Administrative Order [AO] No. 20 or the Interim Guidelines on Agricultural Land Use Conversion, which was issued by [former] President [Fidel] Ramos. This Order contains provisions on protecting prime agricultural lands and became the basis for subsequent laws such as the AFMA,” she said.
AO 20 and the AFMA protect agricultural lands that are irrigated or programmed for irrigation from conversion to industrial or residential use.
Data from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics showed that farmlands in the county in 2002 stood at 9.7 million hectares, or 3 percent lower than nearly 10 million hectares a decade before.
Areas planted to palay [unhusked rice] also fell to 4.07 million hectares in 2005, from 4.13 million in 2004.
The NLUC is an interagency committee chaired by the NEDA, with the following departments as its members: Agriculture; Agrarian Reform; Environment and Natural Resources; Trade and Industry; Justice; Interior and Local Government; Tourism; Transportation and Communication; Public Works and Highways; and Science and Technology. The Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council and The Leagues of Provinces, Cities and Municipalities are also represented in the body.
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