Rural Activists Say Gov’t Pro-WTO Stance Destroying Farmers’ Lives; Oppose New Round in Cancun

Peasant leaders say local agriculture might suffer a bigger and major setback in the next five years right after the Cancun round. The country's agricultural trade deficit might balloon up to $10 billion or more if the Philippine government decides to continue honoring its previous and possible commitments with the WTO, they also warned.

By Gerry Albert Corpuz 
Bulatlat.com

Negros farmers rally for food and land, main concerns of peasant groups and other activists in the coming WTO conference in Cancun, Mexico.

Photo by Karl G. Ombion

Filipino victims of free trade regime and all-out liberalization have set their sights against the 5th Ministerial Meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Cancun, Mexico next month with this national aim in mind: Reject the Cancun Talks and Get the Entire Economy out of the WTO.

On Sept. 9-10, representatives of people's organizations from farmers, peasant women, fisherfolk and workers groups will hold the People's Camp-Out Against WTO and Imperialist Globalization next month, the Philippines’ counterpoint activity to the Cancun round of the WTO.

The Cancun WTO Ministerial Meeting will be held on Sept. 10-14 and will take off from the Harbinson Text and the Doha Ministerial Declaration, which charted the Cancun agenda and the issues to be taken up for decision by member-nations of the nine-year old WTO.

"This is going to be a classic and major political showdown between the struggling people and the corporate gods of WTO and imperialist globalization," declared Rafael Mariano, national president of the national political group Anakpawis (Toiling Masses) and chair of KMP-Peasant Movement of the Philippines.

In an interview with Bulatlat.com, Mariano assailed the Macapagal-Arroyo government positions upholding the country's membership to and policy of renegotiations with the controlling group in the WTO despite the devastating impact the free-trade regime had brought to the country in the last nine years.

"If we talk of logic, the people will say let's get out of the WTO. If we talk of political and moral justness, the people will say let's get out of  the WTO. If we talk of objectivity, definitely, the people will say let's get out of the WTO," Mariano said.

The militant peasant leader said contrary to the government's position that it would seek better trade terms in the upcoming WTO meeting in Cancun, the Philippine government is out to make a general bargain sale of the local economy to WTO major players.

Mariano said the Philippine position in the WTO is one that would further denationalize the local economy at the expense of Filipino farmers, workers, small and medium sized businesses and entrepreneurs.

Effects and incoming disaster

KMP secretary general Danilo Ramos said local agriculture might suffer a bigger and major setback in the next five years right after the Cancun round. He said the country's agricultural trade deficit might balloon up to $10 billion or more if the Philippine government decides to continue honoring its previous and possible commitments with the WTO.

Local agriculture posted an agricultural trade deficit of $ 5.2 billion in the first five years of WTO and the Agreement of Agriculture (AoA) from 1995 to 2002 as opposed to $ 1.2 B the country gained during the pre-WTO period or from 1990 to 1994.

"The first nine years of WTO showed us the way to national devastation. The next chapter of this round would send us further to daily scourge of disaster, hunger and death," Ramos stressed.

KMP's Ramos noted that when the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the precursor of WTO was being deliberated at the Philippine Senate, major proponents then headed by Senators  (now President) Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Blas Ople (now foreign secretary ) said the trade pact would bring an annual income of P 3.4 billion in agriculture, P 60 billion gross value added and additional 500,000 rural jobs.

But KMP said between 1995 and 1997, local agriculture promptly lost 290,000 jobs. The group said the government tried to arrest the massive loss of employment by " modernizing" agriculture through the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA).

Ramos said AFMA did no wonders to local agriculture since it only served as vehicle to the full-liberalization of domestic agriculture and fisheries.  "From 1999 to 2000, another 1.3 million farmers and rural producers lost their livelihood to globalization and liberalization. Where in heaven did the Macapagal-Arroyo government got its idea that WTO was a God-sent and the ultimate answer to rural poverty?" Ramos asked.

Other reports said jobs in agriculture dropped to 10.83 million in 2001from 11.29 million in 1994 due to the increase in agricultural imports. Agricultural imports increased to $ 2.7 billion in 2000 from $ 1.6 billion in 1997 while exports took a nosedive from $ 2.3 B in 1997 to $ 1.9 billion in2000.

"For every dollar we get from export, we pay six dollars for import. Is this fair trade? No, there's no such thing as fair trade in the age of monopoly capitalism," Ramos added.

Mass flooding

Rice which is not covered and supposed to be protected by quantitative restrictions (QRs) against anarchic importation was not spared by the deluge of rice imports. Since 1998, the Department of Agriculture has been importing more than 1 million metric tons of rice per year.

Last year, the National Food Authority imported 1.2 million metric tons of rice as opposed to 260,000 metric tons of palay (unhusked rice) it bought small farmers. From January to March, 2003 NFA sold 6.9 million sacks of imported rice. The government is expecting between 300,000 metric tons to 400,000 metric tons of imported rice for the second semester of 2003.

Reports also said the government has been importing 400,000 metric tons of imported corn at the average through the preferred minimum access volume (MAV).  The deluge in imported rice and corn forced farm gate prices of these highly sensitive products to rock bottom levels. 

The price for palay for instance, was pegged at P 4.50 to P 7.50, while farm gate prices for garlic, onions and cabbage dropped further from P98/per kilo, P40/per kilo and P25/per kilo in 1999 to P47/per kilo, P10/per kilo at P6/per kilo in 2001, respectively.

Meanwhile, the Pambansang Ugnayan ng Mamamayan Laban sa Liberalisasyon ng Agrikultura (Pumalag- Peoples' Movement Against Liberalization of Agriculture) in Cordillera region said the country imported more than 2 million kilos of imported vegetables in 2001. Vegetable farmers in the provinces of Benguet and Mountain Province reportedly netted lost income of P3.6 million.

"The Cancun agenda on WTO/AoA would facilitate the loss of livelihood among 304,000 vegetable farmers in the region with the expected surge in income loss of around P 60 M per year on the average," Pumalag-Cordillera said.

Early this year, hog raisers and livestock producers threatened to stop supplying Metro Manila due to massive importation of meat and livestock products.

The 5,500 strong Agricultural Sector Alliance of the Philippines (ASAP), National Federation of Hog Farmers and Livestock Association of Pandi, Bulacan had been complaining of the massive importation of meat and livestock products.

Last year, the government imported 158 million kilos of pork and other livestock products compared to 20 million kilos last year. Another 43 million kilos of carabeef were imported from India in 2001.  Local industry registered a net loss of P 10.5 B last year during to mass flooding of imported meat and livestock products in 2001.

In an interview with Bulatlat.com Roy Morilla, Program Director of the Peasant Education and Studies Center (PESC) said from January to July this year, the government imported 92,000 million kilos of beef, buffalo meat, chicken, lambs and pork from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, The Netherlands, India, New Zealand, United States, United Kingdom, Belgium, Denmark, France and Germany.

"We expect a surge in the importation of meat and other meat products because of the holiday season. It would surpass last year's importation of 158 million kilos and this would mean higher risk for local producers," Morilla said.

Morilla said tariff for imported chicken was reduced to 3% and 10% for beef while WTO boundary tariff for the same products is 40 percent and 35 percent respectively.  "The Philippines voluntary tariff rate reduction ahead of the WTO schedule had further marginalized the livestock and meat sector in agriculture," he added.

The PESC said the current tariff for potato is 10%, while cabbage is only covered by 30% tariff protection but the government is expected to reduce these products to zero tariff along with onion, garlic, corn, vegetables, livestock and meat and rice.  The group said last year the government implemented an average 12% reduction on all agricultural products.

New issues in Cancun

"The agenda of the so-called new round form a range of issues that parallels in dimension with the Uruguay Round of GATT which encompasses a comprehensive agenda that include further the liberalization of domestic agriculture, the inclusion of fisheries and natural resources, the opening of service sector and negotiations on investments, government procurement, competition policy and trade facilitation," organizers of People's Camp-Out Against WTO and Imperialist Globalization said.

Pamalakaya fisherfolk chair and Camp-Out convenor Fernando Hicap said the "new issues" should assume tremendous significance as they widen the scope like opening of government procurement to foreign bidders, equal access to national resources and 100 foreign ownership to land and other vital sections of the economy like water and energy, mass media and advertising and all-out privatization of basic social services.

"The Cancun round is the mother of all WTO rounds. It is expected to further denationalize the economy and make national patrimony and sovereignty as things of the past," Hicap added. Bulatlat.com

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