BY JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR

PRESIDENT Arroyo yesterday said the Philippines is expecting an increase in the country's rice production this year by at least 7 percent.

Arroyo, at the 11th Asian Investment Conference in Hong Kong, said the increase could be attributed to the "unprecedented spending" that her administration has devoted to the agricultural sector.

The funding went to research and development of the agriculture industry, and construction and rehabilitation of agriculture-related infrastructure like farm-to-market roads, irrigations facilities, and food support system.

Rice production last year was 16.24 million metric tons, a 5.96 percent increase from the production rate the year before, according to the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics.

The increase was attributed to the measures taken by the agriculture department to boost yields and contain the adverse impact of the climate change during the second and third quarters of the year.

Daily consumption is 33,000 tons.

Arroyo gave the assurance that rice supply, including the 1.5 million tons imported from Vietnam and 100,000 tons from the US would be made available to the poor.

"We will make sure that the poorest of the poor will get relief from the hardships not only brought about by the declining world production but also by all the other vagaries that would come up - the high price of oil, the credit crunch in the big economies such as the US," she said.

Sen. Edgardo Angara, chairman of the Senate committee on agriculture, said the country is facing a rice distribution crisis that is being fanned by hoarders and unscrupulous traders.

He warned against knee-jerk solutions to the rice supply problem as he said the situation could be "artificial."

"There are hoarders and traders who are probably hyping up the minor problem of rice supply so they can profit from a state of panic and uncertainty," he said.

Angara said a crash rice production program can immediately ease the current rice supply situation and this will yield positive results in a 120-day planting and harvesting cycle.

"What we need are hybrid seeds, adequate irrigation, a directed credit program and massive extension support," said Angara, who once served as secretary of agriculture.

Angara said the Philippines can easily produce the 18 million metric tons needed to meet the national demand.

Angara said the supply problem can be corrected by four million metric tons of rice that would be harvested from local paddies in April and May and the two million tons committed by Vietnam that will soon be shipped to the Philippines.

"The summer harvest will start April and will last till May and this will be good for 4 million metric tons of rice. The Vietnam commitment of two million will boost the rice stocks. Then, the harvest season will start again in October till November," he said.

Sen. Richard Gordon said the country still needs to import 15 to 20 percent of its rice needs despite billions spent by government on increasing rice production to a level of self-sufficiency.

"It is not far-fetched for people to think that the yearly rice shortage is merely being perpetuated to create a situation where importing rice is not only a viable option but the only option," Gordon said.

"We must be very certain of our rice supply figures . Let us be certain that we aren't getting ourselves into a bank run situation," Gordon said.

Senate President Manuel Villar and Sen. Loren Legarda have pushed for the privatization of rice importation.

Former Socio-Economic Planning Secretary Felipe Medalla earlier urged the government to end its absolute control of rice importation, so that the economy would be less vulnerable to global supply and price shocks.

Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said proposals for dealing with the global food crunch are being studied by his department, including a reduction in rice import tariffs and an overhaul of rice import procedures to encourage grains businessmen to do the importing themselves.

The private sector is being allowed to import a limited volume of rice but there are no takers because of the high tariff rates.

Other suggestions which are already being implemented by Malacañang and the DA are cultivation of more lands for palay growing, higher spending on irrigation and post-harvest programs, and additional farm funding via existing programs like the Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund.