THE farmgate price of palay (unmilled rice) fell 28.9% year on year in May to an average of P17.75 per kilogram, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported.
Month on month, the palay farmgate price fell 1.6% in May from P18.04 in April, the PSA said.
The May decline widened from the 26.9% year-on-year retreat in April.
In May 2024, the farmgate price had averaged P24.95.
The declining prices of palay at the farmgate level may further discourage farmers from farming, which should concern the government, according to Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) spokesman Jayson H. Cainglet.
“Our biggest worry is that farmers are further discouraged from planting rice,” he said via Viber.
“Latest PSA data suggest that close to 324,000 jobs were lost in the farming sector.”
SINAG noted that from April to May, the farmgate price was actually between P11-16 per kilo for freshly harvested grain.
“Farmers are discouraged when they experience low farmgate prices after investing months of hard work without guaranteed returns,” Mr. Cainglet said.
“High production costs and depressed farmgate prices are realities driving farmers away from agriculture.”
None of the 15 regions posted year-on-year growth in average farmgate prices in May, according to the PSA.
The highest palay prices were posted in the Bangsamoro region at P20.32.
The lowest palay prices were logged in Calabarzon at P14.02, with the farmgate price in the region falling 38.6% year on year and 7.7% month on month.
SINAG welcomed government moves to institutionalize a palay floor-pricing scheme, which is expected to be set at least 20% above production costs.
Mr. Cainglet said the government must immediately roll out cash incentives for rice farmers to encourage them to continue planting in the next cropping season, which is about to start.
“The key to encouraging our farmers to continue farming lies in guaranteeing fair farmgate prices,” he said. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza