THE P20-per-kilo rice program has benefited 11,400 eligible households, Department of Agriculture (DA) spokesman Arnel V. de Mesa told reporters.
He said the subsidized rice, targeted at vulnerable segments of society, is now available at 94 locations nationwide.
Sales have amounted to 682 metric tons (MT) from National Food Authority (NFA) stock, he said, generating nearly P11 million in revenue, exclusive of P2.8 million in sales by outlets handled by the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE).
DoLE is initially targeting 120,000 of the country’s 4 million minimum-wage workers.
Before DoLE introduced its priority list, the program was targeted at poor households eligible for cash transfers, senior citizens, solo parents, and persons with disabilities.
The expanded pilot program of the P20-per-kilo rice program seeks to reach up to 14 million individuals by September.
The program’s goals include freeing up NFA warehouse capacity to allow the agency to procure more palay (unmilled rice) from farmers at the favorable government support price.
However, farmers have been complaining of decreasing palay prices, receiving lower offers from traders for their grain.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. in late June said that while the NFA purchases palay at P17 to P18 per kilo, private traders were offering only P11 to P12 per kilo.
Mr. De Mesa said Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr. has instructed his subordinates to investigate parts of Tarlac and Bulacan where traders are offering unreasonable prices for palay.
Rice imports fell to 2.17 million MT as of June 26, behind the pace compared with a year earlier of 2.34 MMT in imports, Mr. De Mesa said.
The US Department of Agriculture said in a report that Philippine rice production will likely hit 12.25 MMT in marketing year 2025-2026, which begins in July, citing “continued support from the government for the rice industry and the sale of subsidized milled rice.”
Farmers receive modernization support from the P30 billion in rice import tariffs given to the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF).
Mr. De Mesa said P10 billion in RCEF allocations have already been released under the General Appropriations Act, with the DA awaiting about P15 billion more that will be used for financial and credit assistance, solar-powered irrigation, soil health improvement, construction of composting facilities, and pest and disease management, among others.
“It will be requiring the concurrence and approval of the President,” he said. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza
