Ambrosio R. Villorente
The Travails of Palay Farmers
During palay harvest season, the farmers producers sell their produce at P9.00 – P10.00 per kilogram. The palay must be according to the desired standard specification.
The farmers sell the palay to raise money for their immediate needs like to pay loans, school expenses, hospitalization, house repair, tax payment and others. They cannot store it because of their immediate and pressing needs.
Like today, after about three months from harvest, they have no more rice. Farmers now visit their public market to buy their rice needs at a cost from P23.00 to P25.00 per kilogram.
If the rice businessmen purchased their palay at P10.00 per kilogram and spent 20 percent more for storage, wastage, transportation and handling and interest of money, the businessmen must have realized a net income of 25 percent. This is happiness for a palay businessman.
Let us say a palay businessman bought 10 metric tons of palay at harvest season at P10.00 per kilogram or P100,000.00 He milled this 10,000 kilograms of palay in July or August of at least 65 percent milling recovery. He gets 6.5 metric tons clean rice or 6,500 kilograms. After selling the rice at P24.00 per kilogram, the price today, he gets P156,000. If 20 percent was spent for post harvest handling and processing, this will cost P31,200.00. When this amount is subtracted from P156,000.00, it will be P24,800.00 which will be the net gain of the rice businessman. This is 24.8 percent more of his P100,000 used in the purchase of 10 metric tons of palay. This amount gives him additional wealth. Moreover, the businessman will have his “Darak” for the swine feed, an additional gain.
On the other hand, a farmer who farms a one hectare paddy field could hardly realize P20,000.00 from his field. Here is why.
If that farmer, produced 8,000 kilograms per hectare or 8 metric tons which is more or less the average production per hectare in Aklan, what will remain with him is just about two metric tons or P20,000.00. Some 2 M.T. or 25 percent will be paid to the land lease. The four metric tons or about P30,000 to P40,000 will be spent for land preparation, seeds, irrigation, fertilizer and pesticide, crop management like weeding, harvesting and threshing, sacks, hauling, drying and other expenses. This P20,000.00 the farmer retains is just his labor income from his palay crop from land preparation to handling of produce after harvest.
Considering the 50 kilograms per person nutritional requirement of grains per annum, the 2 tons net produce of the farmer is not even enough for his family of six (6) during a year. This explains why the “backbone” of the Filipino farmer is fast becoming “boneless”. For the farmer to continue producing rice crops, attractive motivation must be given him. The rice businessmen must purchase palay at a most reasonable price. The government may provide the farmer a free interest supervised credit, subsidized production in – puts and guaranteed fair palay market price.
If the present atmosphere in palay farming will continue, it will not take long for the Filipino palay farmers to fade away from the paddy fields. Our Filipino palay farmers will be unable to continue working with their feet buried in the mud and their bodies exposed to the rain, the sun and the wind if after harvest what remains with them and their families are merely rice hulls. /MP http://madyaas_pen@yahoo.com
The Travails of Palay Farmers
During palay harvest season, the farmers producers sell their produce at P9.00 – P10.00 per kilogram. The palay must be according to the desired standard specification.
The farmers sell the palay to raise money for their immediate needs like to pay loans, school expenses, hospitalization, house repair, tax payment and others. They cannot store it because of their immediate and pressing needs.
Like today, after about three months from harvest, they have no more rice. Farmers now visit their public market to buy their rice needs at a cost from P23.00 to P25.00 per kilogram.
If the rice businessmen purchased their palay at P10.00 per kilogram and spent 20 percent more for storage, wastage, transportation and handling and interest of money, the businessmen must have realized a net income of 25 percent. This is happiness for a palay businessman.
Let us say a palay businessman bought 10 metric tons of palay at harvest season at P10.00 per kilogram or P100,000.00 He milled this 10,000 kilograms of palay in July or August of at least 65 percent milling recovery. He gets 6.5 metric tons clean rice or 6,500 kilograms. After selling the rice at P24.00 per kilogram, the price today, he gets P156,000. If 20 percent was spent for post harvest handling and processing, this will cost P31,200.00. When this amount is subtracted from P156,000.00, it will be P24,800.00 which will be the net gain of the rice businessman. This is 24.8 percent more of his P100,000 used in the purchase of 10 metric tons of palay. This amount gives him additional wealth. Moreover, the businessman will have his “Darak” for the swine feed, an additional gain.
On the other hand, a farmer who farms a one hectare paddy field could hardly realize P20,000.00 from his field. Here is why.
If that farmer, produced 8,000 kilograms per hectare or 8 metric tons which is more or less the average production per hectare in Aklan, what will remain with him is just about two metric tons or P20,000.00. Some 2 M.T. or 25 percent will be paid to the land lease. The four metric tons or about P30,000 to P40,000 will be spent for land preparation, seeds, irrigation, fertilizer and pesticide, crop management like weeding, harvesting and threshing, sacks, hauling, drying and other expenses. This P20,000.00 the farmer retains is just his labor income from his palay crop from land preparation to handling of produce after harvest.
Considering the 50 kilograms per person nutritional requirement of grains per annum, the 2 tons net produce of the farmer is not even enough for his family of six (6) during a year. This explains why the “backbone” of the Filipino farmer is fast becoming “boneless”. For the farmer to continue producing rice crops, attractive motivation must be given him. The rice businessmen must purchase palay at a most reasonable price. The government may provide the farmer a free interest supervised credit, subsidized production in – puts and guaranteed fair palay market price.
If the present atmosphere in palay farming will continue, it will not take long for the Filipino palay farmers to fade away from the paddy fields. Our Filipino palay farmers will be unable to continue working with their feet buried in the mud and their bodies exposed to the rain, the sun and the wind if after harvest what remains with them and their families are merely rice hulls. /MP http://madyaas_pen@yahoo.com
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