MANILA – The Department of Agriculture on Monday said the effects of the increased investments in the rice sector under Republic Act (RA) 12078, or the Agricultural Tariffication Act, may be felt in a year or two.
RA 12078, signed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., will extend the implementation of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) until 2031 and increase its funding from PHP10 billion to PHP30 billion annually.
“In the long run, it should be mas mapapababa ang presyo ng bigas dahil (lower prices because) if we can produce more through iyong budgets na makukuha na dagdag at mas tumagal pa (additional budget being secured and with the extension), then it would be more efficient and we will be producing more per hectare,” DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said in an interview.
With the PHP30 billion worth of Rice Fund, PHP15 billion will be allocated for extension and training programs, financial assistance for rice farmers, credit, soil improvement, solar-powered irrigation systems, and water impounding projects; PHP9 billion for farm mechanization; and PHP6 billion for provision of high-quality rice seeds.
With this in place, the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) is also expected to distribute 5.5 million bags of rice seeds per year starting in 2027, covering 2.54 million hectares of farmland that could increase yield by 21 percent in both dry and wet seasons.
“Sa ating bagong RTL or expanded RTL, makakasama na iyong soil rehabilitation, iyong additional irrigation na budget na yearly nakukuha. Ang main issue talaga is irrigation at mechanization (In the new or expanded RTL, the soil rehabilitation will be included, the additional budget for irrigation secured annually. The main issue is irrigation and mechanization),” Tiu Laurel added.
Besides these, Tiu Laurel said the amendment will also help curb agricultural smuggling, which is now considered a form of economic sabotage.
“Malaking tulong iyon sa (That’s a huge help against the) smuggling. Some smuggling ngayon na-curb na natin eh (we already curb some smuggling) because we changed some policies on how to import,” Tiu Laurel said.
Under the amendment, the DA’s regulatory function will be strengthened with the creation and maintenance of a database for all warehouse and storage facilities, providing “comprehensive” data on actual rice reserves.
“Malaking bagay iyong makakapasok ka ngayon sa (It’s a huge thing that you can now enter in the) warehouse to do inventory so we can have accurate data para makita natin iyong talagang sitwasyon (so we can see the actual situation). With accurate data, we can manage prices better,” Tiu Laurel said.
He said the DA is set to establish a command center in 2025 that will track and monitor supply, intending to eventually include data on all agricultural commodities.
Continuous government intervention
Meanwhile, Tiu Laurel assured continuous government intervention through the DA’s Kadiwa ng Pangulo (KNP) Rice for All and P29 programs, which provide cheaper rice for consumers without affecting farmers’ income.
“The Kadiwa ng Pangulo program started selling PHP40. So next year, ang target natin to (our target is to) break PHP40, hopefully by the end of January, mayroon na tayong (we already have) PHP39, PHP38,” Tiu Laurel said.
The Rice for All program refers to the sale of PHP40 per kg. of mixed local and imported well-milled rice to the general public, while the P29 program is the sale of aging but good quality stocks of National Food Authority (NFA) rice worth PHP29 per kilogram to members of the vulnerable sector, including senior citizens, persons with disabilities (PWDs), members of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), and solo parents.
Earlier, the DA expressed plans to launch new varieties of rice under the KNP in 2025, which will be called “nutri” and “sulit” rice.
The nutri rice, described as “brownish,” will be sold at PHP38/kg; while PHP36/kg for sulit rice for white but super broken variety.
As of Dec. 6, the recorded peak price for imported well-milled rice in Metro Manila was pegged at PHP54/kg, and PHP48/kg for imported regular-milled; while it was at PHP52/kg for local well-milled rice and PHP48/kg for local regular-milled rice. (PNA)