Department of Agriculture
The National Food Authority (NFA) Council, chaired by Agriculture Sec. Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr., has greenlit a proposal to sell aging but good NFA rice buffer stocks at P29 per kilo to millions of Filipinos in vulnerable sectors for a limited period through the KADIWA network.
Although the new NFA selling price is higher than the previous price of P25 per kilo, it is nonetheless a very deep discount to prevailing market price to ensure that poverty-stricken Filipinos have access to their main food staple. The NFA selling price was raised to moderate government subsidy for the program.
Sec. Tiu Laurel stressed that the low-priced rice program will address the minimum basic needs of individuals below the poverty threshold. “This program primarily aims to provide rice at an affordable price of P29 per kilo for the vulnerable sectors of society,” he said.
Initially dubbed “Bigas 29,” the program will benefit persons with disabilities, solo parents, senior citizens and, later, indigenous people, who collectively comprise 6.9 million households or over 34 million Filipinos. Each beneficiary household is entitled to purchase 10 kilos per month, requiring rice supply of 69,000 metric tons every month.
A dry run of the cheaper rice program is already underway in select KADIWA centers, and has been well-received by potential beneficiaries.
Bigas 29 dovetails with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s vision of a food secure Philippines, where basic commodities are affordably-priced and easily accessible, especially to poor Filipinos.
Sec. Tiu Laurel told the NFA Council that the program’s implementation, given the monthly target volume, procurement cost, and selling price, would incur a social cost between P1.39 billion and P1.53 billion per month.
To secure rice supply for the initiative, the Department of Agriculture plans to import 363,697 metric tons of rice to augment national buffer stocks, while the NFA will procure 559,535 metric tons of palay from local farmers — a volume equivalent to the amount of rice to be imported by DA. The estimated cost of securing rice buffer stocks to cover 19 days of national consumption is at least P28.39 billion,
The government aims to roll out the Bigas-29 program nationwide in early July, ensuring food security and accessibility for vulnerable sectors across the country. (PR)