As part of the government’s ongoing efforts to assist farmers in the country amid the challenges faced by their sector.
The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) is set to sell rice at prices ranging from P20 to P29 per kilogram through their “kadiwa” outlets in August.
This was announced by the NIA during a press conference.
According to the agency, this initiative is spearheaded by irrigators associations to help consumers purchase rice at a lower cost.
They also mentioned that this is part of their contract farming.
NIA Administrator Eduardo Guillen further stated that they are grateful to President Marcos for his continuous assistance to farmers to increase their rice production.
“Inisyatibo po ito ng ating mga irrigators association, Sabi nila noong kinakausap ko sila, bilang pasasalamat nila [ito] sa napakarami nilang tinatanggap na mga ayuda sa gobyerno natin. Nag-o-offer din sila ng P20 na bigas,” Guillen said in a press briefing in Malacañang
They are also expecting a harvest of 100 million kilograms of rice in August, in addition to the supply from the Department of Agriculture arriving in July.
“In fact, ang aming estimate diyan, mga nasa P29 puwede na kaming magbenta, by August naman kami. And we have around 100 million kilos of rice na projected na ma-produce po natin by August,” he added
It can be recalled that one of President Marcos’s promises is to lower the price of rice to as low as P20 per kilogram in markets nationwide to make it affordable for consumers.
However, until this goal is achieved, rice prices are being reduced at kadiwa outlets first.
House Speaker Martin Romualdez also stated that they will approve bills in Congress to fulfill the President’s goal of lower rice prices.
Currently, rice prices in the National Capital Region range from P51 to P54 per kilogram for imported commercial well-milled rice.
P48 to P51 for regular-milled imported rice, P46 to P53 for local commercial regular-milled rice, and P48 to P55 for well-milled rice.
Rice can be purchased at P20 to P29 per kilogram at Kadiwa outlets in Metro Manila, Cebu, and Davao, with each family allowed to buy only 10 kilograms of rice.