News Release
March 10, 2008
Reference: Ka Willy Marbella, deputy secretary general for internal affairs, KMP
 
“RP-China agri. deals and JPEPA will worsen food crisis!”-KMP
 
The militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) revealed that with the RP-China agricultural deals and the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreements (JPEPA) the food security of our country would be put in grave danger.
According to Ka Willy Marbella, deputy secretary general for internal affairs of KMP, “it is good that last week Gov. Joey Salceda of Albay has warned of this food crisis but he should have added that it is also the Macapagal-Arroyo regime that is primarily responsible for it. It is with Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’ s policy of all out neo-liberalism that has put our country to the brink of this crisis anyway,”
“By totally liberalizing the agricultural sector, tons of surplus agricultural products have been dumped in the Philippines , competing with our local products and pushing farmers to starvation. Since 1999 we have an increasing agricultural trade deficit of US$3.5 billion. It is also with this policy that they have forced many farmers to plant high value crops like bananas, mangoes, pineapples and flowers thereby lowering the extent of the land allotted for our staple food like rice and corn. As of now at least 110,000 hectares of our lands are controlled by Dole and Del Monte that are exclusively for pineapple and banana plants,” said Marbella .
“It is with this set up that we have become a net importer of rice and agricultural products under the World Trade Organization (WTO). As of now we import at least 40% of our rice consumption a year. Landlessness and these policies are the primary reasons of the food insecurity of our country and not the increasing prices of food abroad.  It is still Gloria’ fault, because she is the principal author of our entry to the WTO” he said.
“It will become worse with the RP-China Agricultural deals and the JPEPA at least 1.5 million hectares will be given to the Chinese and Japanese for jatropha plantations and the expansion of banana and pineapple plantations,” added the peasant leader.
“The only solution to this problem is the implementation of genuine agrarian reform and giving farmers sufficient support services so that that they can increase their yield using natural fertilizers. This will also increase the purchasing power of peasants and the money will be circulated in the economy. With this the food security of the Philippines will improve and the country’s economy will prosper as well,” ended Marbella . # # #