DA ‘working double time’ towards P20 per kilo rice

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) is still working “double time” to achieve President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s P20 per kilo rice promise, according to an agency official on Friday.

In a Palace statement, DA Assistant Secretary for Operations Arnel De Mesa said that the department, local government units, and farmers are working together to get the rice price down to around P20 to P25 per kilo.

“Everyone’s working double time and giving their share to make sure that the targets of the President are delivered,” De Mesa said.

READ: P20/kilo of rice is “doable” if govt subsidizes farmer inputs

The DA said rice is being sold at P25 per kilo at the “Bigasan ng Bayan” in Negros Occidental, with support from the Federation of Irrigators Association of Central Negros-Bago River Irrigation System (FIACN-BRIS).

A total of 10 percent of the FIACN-BRIS’s production is sold to the most vulnerable sector, said the Palace.

“We are not only looking after the welfare of the consumers but the rice producers as well,” De Mesa said.

READ: Bongbong Marcos says P20/kilo rice possible: ‘May chance lagi yan’

Marcos made the promise of rice being priced at P20 per kilo during his presidential campaign in 2022.