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THE rice problem in the Philippines: trends, constraints, and policy imperatives

Author

Listed:
  • Balisacan, Arsenio M.
  • Ravago, Majah-Leah V.

Abstract

Every political dispensation in recent decades has taken the view that the country has to be able to feed itself. For the country’s political leaders and the agriculture bureaucracy, this has meant that rice, the country’s staple food, has to be locally produced at quantity sufficient to meet the rice requirement of the burgeoning population. Indeed, rice self-sufficiency has been an objective enshrined in all government programs for the agricultural sector since the early 1960s. To achieve the objective, the Government has intervened, albeit in varying degrees, in the marketplace to affect virtually all segments of the supply chain, including importation, and of the demand spectrum. Yet, self-sufficiency has remained elusive. The population is far from being more food-secure now than a decade or two ago. Over the years, rice has become more expensive in the Philippines than in most developing countries of Asia. This has caused reduction in the purchasing power of the incomes of the poor, including landless farmers and urban poor workers whose spending on rice constitutes about 22% of their total household expenditure. Arguably, this could partly explain for the much higher incidence of absolute poverty in the Philippines than in Indonesia, Thailand, and even Vietnam. What has gone wrong? In this paper, we examine the performance of the rice sector over the last three decades. Our aim is to identify policy imperatives and investment options for the sector in the wake of globalization and population pressure. While a number of observations found in the paper are not new and have already been pointed out elsewhere, we move beyond the usual description of past performance to include as well an ex-ante assessment of the effects of trade policy reforms on the rice economy in the short and medium terms.

Suggested Citation

  • Balisacan, Arsenio M. & Ravago, Majah-Leah V., 2003. "THE rice problem in the Philippines: trends, constraints, and policy imperatives," MPRA Paper 24865, University Library of Munich, Germany.
  • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:24865
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    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/24865/1/MPRA_paper_24865.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ramon L. Clarete, 1999. "Trade-Related Problems and Policy Issues in Philippine Agriculture," Philippine Review of Economics, University of the Philippines School of Economics and Philippine Economic Society, vol. 36(1), pages 127-158, June.
    2. David, Cristina C. & Balisacan, Arsenio M., 1995. "Philippine Rice Supply and Demand: Prospects and Policy Implications," Philippine Journal of Development JPD 1995 Vol. XXII No. 2-, Philippine Institute for Development Studies.
    3. Arsenio M. Balisacan, 1994. "Demand for Food in the Philippines: Responses to Price and Income Changes," Philippine Review of Economics, University of the Philippines School of Economics and Philippine Economic Society, vol. 31(2), pages 137-163, December.
    4. David, Cristina C. & Balisacan, Arsenio M., 1995. "Philippine Rice Supply Demand: Prospects and Policy Implications," Discussion Papers DP 1995-28, Philippine Institute for Development Studies.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Abrigo, Michael Ralph M., 2016. "Who Weans with Commodity Price Shocks? Rice Prices and Breastfeeding in the Philippines," Discussion Papers DP 2016-28, Philippine Institute for Development Studies.
    2. Marc Jim M. Mariano & James A. Giesecke & Nhi H. Tran, 2015. "The effects of domestic rice market interventions outside business-as-usual conditions for imported rice prices," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(8), pages 809-832, February.
    3. Tiongco, Marites M. & Francisco, Kris A., 2011. "Philippines: Food Security versus Agricultural Exports?," Discussion Papers DP 2011-35, Philippine Institute for Development Studies.
    4. Briones, Roehlano M. & Tolin, Lovely Ann C., 2015. "Options for Supporting Rice Farmers Under a Post-QR Regime: Review and Assessment," Research Paper Series DP 2015-46, Philippine Institute for Development Studies.
    5. Briones, Roehlano M. & Tolin, Lovely Ann C., 2015. "Options for Supporting Rice Farmers Under a Post-QR Regime: Review and Assessment," Discussion Papers DP 2015-46, Philippine Institute for Development Studies.
    6. Abrigo, Michael R.M., 2016. "Who Weans with Commodity Price Shocks? Rice Prices and Breastfeeding in the Philippines," Research Paper Series DP 2016-28, Philippine Institute for Development Studies.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Food security; rice economy; Philippines; trade policy reforms;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q17 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agriculture in International Trade
    • Q18 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Policy; Food Policy; Animal Welfare Policy

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