THE National Food Authority (NFA) said that it shipped 35,000 bags of well-milled rice to Cebu on Monday to support the government’s plan to sell subsidized P20-per-kilo rice to vulnerable segments of the population.
The shipment will constitute the stocks to be sold in a pilot test in the Visayas, which will run until December, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor, and Southern Leyte have agreed to join the subsidized rice initiative and have an initial combined order of 673,000 50-kilo bags,” it added, referring to local governments which have agreed to pay for a share of the subsidy.
NFA Administrator Larry R. Lacson said that Cebu ordered 600,000 bags of rice, Siquijor 40,000, Southern Leyte 30,000, and Bohol 3,000.
“The transfer to Cebu is expected to be completed by June, with 240,000 sacks coming from NFA warehouses in Mindoro and Iloilo,” Mr. Lacson said.
“The decongestion of NFA warehouses is necessary to allow for the continued procurement of palay from farmers,” he added.
Under the program, the DA, through Food Terminal, Inc., and the LGUs (local government units) will equally share the P13-per-kilo subsidy to bring the retail price of rice sourced from NFA stocks to P20.
“President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. has allocated P4.5 billion from his contingency fund to support the pilot implementation of the program,” the DA said.
“He has also directed the DA to continue the initiative through the end of his term in 2028 and pledged full support for the program that aims to ease the financial burdens of consumers, particularly those from vulnerable sectors such as senior citizens and the indigent,” it added.
NFA warehouses contained the rice equivalent of 7.93 million bags as of April 30, equivalent to 10 days of national consumption.
Currently, NFA buys palay (unmilled rice) from farmers at between P18 and P24 a kilo.
“The agency is seeking to at least double its current P9-billion allocation to enhance its market influence and support farmer profitability,” the DA said.
To date, the P20-per-kilo rice program is being rolled out in 12 KADIWA ng Pangulo centers, targeted for increase to 32 by Thursday. — Justine Irish D. Tabile