THE P20 per kilogram subsidized-rice program has been launched in Davao City, Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. said.
In a statement, Mr. Laurel said the government’s flagship food-security program combines social protection for consumers from vulnerable segments of society with support for producers.
Speaking at the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) compound in Bago Oshiro, Mr. Laurel said the subsidized rice supports senior citizens, solo parents, persons with disabilities, minimum wage earners, farmers, fisherfolk, and transport workers.
The subsidized-rice program is now available in over 376 sites in partnership with local government units, national agencies, and private sector groups.
In the Davao Region, P20 rice is now sold in Hagonoy, Digos, Bansalan, Mati, Panabo, Tagum, and key NFA and DA offices.
The program releases inventory from National Food Authority warehouses and frees up space for the grains agency to buy more of the domestic rice crop at far more than the price being offered by private traders.
The NFA buys clean and dry palay (unmilled rice) for P23-30 per kilo depending on the grade of the grain and on location, as opposed to offer prices as low as the single digits from rice traders.