The militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) today urged the National Food Authority (NFA) to defy Malacanang’s marching orders to import 150,000 metric tons of corn saying “the importation would push local corn prices to as low as P3.00 per kilo at the farm-gate or even lower.”

The Department of Agriculture has directed the National Food Authority (NFA) to import 150,000 metric tons of corn to avert a possible supply shortage. 

KMP chair Rafael Mariano said “the 150,000 MT of imported corn that would be released in the market in time for harvest season in October would definitely have a disastrous impact on the farm-gate prices of our local corn and farmers.”

The KMP said that current farm-gate prices of yellow corn are pegged at an average of P4.00 to P7.00 per kilo. “Local corn prices could be nailed to as low as P3.00 per kilo upon the arrival and release of these imports,” says Mariano.

The KMP blamed the government’s all-out adherence to the World Trade Organization-Agreement on Agriculture (WTO-AoA) as the “main culprit” behind the agriculture liberalization and importation.

He stressed that “since the country’s membership to the WTO, importations on sensitive agricultural products increased namely; rice - 540 percent, corn - 320 percent, poultry – 580 percent, beef - 230 percent, pork -120% and fish by 45 percent.” 
“Full-scale agriculture liberalization in accordance with the WTO-AoA is killing our farmers and agriculture,” Mariano stressed.

Malacañang earlier approved tax-free importation of corn after typhoon "Harurot" destroyed major corn farms in the Cagayan Valley and Ilocos regions in northern Luzon. 
The KMP leader said Malacanang is creating an artificial shortage to justify importations in order to meet its obligations to the WTO. “Millions of metric tons of local corn are rottening in the fields due to low prices and lack of procurement and price subsidies from the government.”

The peasant leader urged the NFA to buy locally produced corn instead of wasting billions of people’s money on importations.
WTO members are forced to open their domestic market and reduce tariffs in agriculture products.

The WTO agreement also requires every member state to buy minimum 5% of the domestic food need. This caused the lowering of prices of domestic agricultural products with farmers bearing the brunt of its impacts. 

The KMP announced to launch protest actions during the WTO Fifth Ministerial Meeting in Cancun, Mexico in September and urged the government to take agriculture and the whole economy out of the WTO. #
 

KMP - 15 August 2003