THE Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. (PCAFI) is urging the government to impose a rice tariff of at least 70 percent to arrest record-high rice imports that have caused a severe drop in local farmers' produce.

In a statement on Wednesday, PCAFI President Danilo Fausto warned that the continuous influx of cheap rice imports, which has so far reached 2.4 million metric tons (MMT) since the passage of the Rice Tariffication Law in February, might force local farmers in  rural areas to resort to joining communist rebels.