The government has funding in place to sustain President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s P20-per-kilo rice program through the end of his term, with most of the additional funds released by the President still unused, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said.
Known as Benteng Bigas Meron Na!, the program is providing relief to vulnerable consumers and is expected to reach as many as 60 million Filipinos through June 2028.
“It’s really helping a lot of people,” Tiu Laurel said, pointing to the program’s impact on households hit by high food costs.
The funding position gives the government room to sustain the subsidy while keeping it targeted at consumers who need it most.
The initiative gives the National Food Authority a bigger role in the rice market.
The initiative also gives the National Food Authority a bigger role in the rice market by allowing it to purchase more palay from local farmers through faster inventory movement.
The agriculture chief said forcing the broader market to sell rice at P20 a kilo could instead hurt farmers, whose production costs leave little room for further price cuts.
Even the most efficient local rice farmers spend about P12 to produce a kilo of palay. Milling, transport, trading, and other costs must still be covered before rice reaches consumers.
A market-wide P20 retail price could therefore squeeze farm incomes and discourage domestic production, particularly if farmers are forced to absorb the difference.
The targeted subsidy allows the government to lower prices for qualified consumers without imposing the full cost on farmers and other players in the supply chain.
The targeted subsidy allows the government to lower prices for qualified consumers without imposing the full cost on farmers and other players in the supply chain.
The program also delivers on a key part of Marcos’ 2022 campaign promise to make rice more affordable, although the P20 price is not intended for the entire market.
The agriculture head said he understood the pledge, noting that production conditions were more favorable when it was made. Fertilizer and fuel, two major farm inputs, were significantly cheaper.
Since then, geopolitical disruptions, including the war in Ukraine and tensions in the Middle East, have pushed up fuel, fertilizer, shipping, and other agricultural costs.
These pressures have made a nationwide P20 rice price difficult to achieve without heavy government support.
Meanwhile, expanded NFA procurement could give farmers a more reliable market for their palay while helping supply the subsidized program.
The bigger challenge is lowering production and distribution costs enough to make rice cheaper across the market without undermining farmers.
Better productivity, supply chains, and input efficiency will be crucial to making that happen.
