INTRODUCTION

The Philippines promulgated a bill called Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) that eased the restriction
of imported rice from 50% to 35% for members of the ASEAN association and 40% for non-
ASEAN to increase the supply of rice in the Philippines, former President Rodrigo Duterte
signed the bill into Law February 14, 2019, as RA 11203. That aims to protect the Rice security
of the country from rice shortage as it is the main staple of the Filipinos. Casinillo (2020)
However, it drastically changed the state of rice farmers that produce domestic rice in the
country, and the impact of the reform appears through prices Balié et al. (2020). The reform
leads to lower domestic rice prices, resulting in reduced income for rice farmers but increased
purchasing power for rice consumers Balie and Valera (2020)
 
The increasing number of imported rice reduced the income of domestic producers; a previous
study showed that the impact on rice farmers in the country negatively affected their economic
profit under Rice tariffication Law as opposed to the previous cropping season before the reform
was promulgated. Casinillo (2022). In a study conducted by Cororaton and Yu (2019) supported
by Balié et al. (2020) and Briones (2018 - 2019), the overall effects of Rice Tariffication Law are
beneficial to the general since the effects spread widely across the population. Unfortunately,
since rice growers are net sellers, they are negatively impacted by the policy reform. It put
pressure on the domestic rice producers, which has been the situation in the Philippines under the
Rice Tariffication Law. While the reform may benefit society, it may vary among the income
groups and farmer groups in the country Balié et al. (2020) and Briones (2019).

Rice production is the main source of income specially for small scale farmers in the Philippines
Casinillo (2022). Domestic rice producers are having hard time compensating for their expenses
in farm inputs due to the low marketability profit of their rice outputs Balié (2020). This results
to farmers inability of acquiring agricultural inputs since their prices are also rising over time. A
study conducted by Pacheco (2023) the adverse effects of the reform towards the local rice
producers as domestic prices of rice decreases their income leads to declining numbers of rice
production as rice farmer would have hard time competing due to the struggle of staying
profitable.

Farmers' well-being is adversely affected by low prices of rice outputs due to the volume of
imported supply brought by the Rice Tariffication Law in the country Olorunfemi et al. (2020)

According to Calicdan et al.(2020) and Casinillo (2020) most of the small-scale rice farmers'
well-being is negatively affected because of low income from rice production during the
implementation of Rice tariffication Law . This is because several of the rice farmers in the rural
areas are not supported by the Philippine government concerning their farm inputs while
suffering from low prices of outputs. Several studies shown that the reform decreases the rice
prices for both producers and consumers which greatly affects the production and consumption
of every household in the country Olorunfemi et al. (2022). This means that the effects of Rice
tariffication law is having both negative and positive impact for producer and consumer in their
household.

There are several factors of the reform to domestic rice producers, among it is the negative
impact on their economic profit, As several of them do not receive any benefits from the
agriculture program of the said fund from the government in the rural areas of the Philippines.
This is to avoid the crisis and the declining numbers of Filipino rice producers and to continue
serving the primary commodity of every family in the country for the future without relying on
rice importation. While it has been heavily debated, other potential effects of the reform have not
been extensively studied to date Balié et al (2020). Only a few studies analyzed the potential
effect of the reform in the country. Thus, this fills the gap in the literature to help affected
domestic rice producers achieve sustainable economic growth in the rice production sector under
the RTL policy in Marilog, Calinan Davao City. This paper aims to provide more significant
insights for policymakers in the Philippines on the actual effects of this reform. The findings are
relevant beyond the Philippines as other countries in the region are contemplating reforming
their rice price policy Balié et al. (2020).