Farmers lament palay price drop

Farmgate prices of palay (unmilled rice) are continuing to decline and are seen to drop further when harvest peaks this month and in October, according to the Department of Agriculture's Rice Industry Development.

DA-RID said palay's farmgate prices have dropped from P17 to P18 a kilo this September from a high of P22 to P25 a kilo in June and July due to the onset of the harvest in Nueva Ecija.

Farmers polled by the National Rice Program in Nueva Ecija this week lamented the fall in farmgate prices of unmilled rice, warning it could even fall to as low as P15 per kilo during the peak of the wet season harvest by mid-September.

Thus, the farmers sought President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s help to get better prices for their produce against the dictates of traders, agents and millers.

The NRP survey noted that farmers have rued their losses from the typhoons and monsoon rains in the past few months.

High farming costs

"For some who harvested earlier, they were able to benefit from the high prices from their palay and did not suffer losses, unlike the majority who would be harvesting in the coming weeks," the NRP reported.

Among the farms heavily affected by the prolonged rains were those in Licab, Quezon and Zaragosa, an inspection by DA-NRP showed.

Farmers said that with the retail price cap set by the government, traders and millers may buy their harvest at even lower prices.

The National Food Authority does not buy fresh palay, but only those with a moisture content of 14.1 to 30 percent, clean and dry. NFA pays P19 per kilo of palay.

Farmers belonging to a cooperative in Aliaga, Quezon, and Licab, both in Nueva Ecija, said that it is only proper for the government to give them subsidies like rice retailers.

Servillano Yabut, director of the Farmer Business Cooperative of Aliaga, said they expect to harvest only 60 to 70 percent of their palay with an average yield of 130 cavans per hectare and rice recovery of only 65 cavans.

Another farmer, Marcelo Tudayan, also of Aliaga, said that five years ago they could sell palay at a high of P22.50 per kilo, but they'd be lucky to be selling at P17 per kilo today.

He explained that back then, the cost of inputs was low, enabling them to earn extra, unlike today when farming costs have gone up, especially for fertilizers, the supply of which has been affected by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

During the dry season harvest of 2023, the top five production areas of Nueva Ecija were Guimba with 124,943.56 metric tons; San Antonio with 112, 126.97 MT; Munoz with 85,947.21 MT; Talavera with 72,681.60; and Gapan with 67,265.69 MT.

But in terms of yield per hectare during the dry season crop, the top five LGUs were Munoz with 9.5 MT, San Antonio with 9.2 MT, Sto. Domingo, 8.89 MT; Jaen, 8.55 MT and Sta. Rosa, 8.44 MT.