(REUTERS/file photo)

MANILA, Philippines — Is the P20 per kilo rice possible in 2024? Senator Cynthia Villar thinks so, but under certain conditions. 

“Kapag na-implement ang Rice Tariffication Law [at] yung Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund ng National Rice Program at saka yung ano….. [ay] kaya,” Villar said on Friday.

(When the Rice Tariffication Law and the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund of the National Rice Program are implemented, then it’s possible.)

Villar, the chairperson of the Senate committee on agriculture, food and agrarian reform, said the problem lies in the implementation of the aforementioned measures. 

“Kaya lang ang problema natin ay yung  (Our problem is) implementation… if they will implement it,” she said. 

She said that in order to lower the price of rice,  it is likewise necessary to mechanize, adding that farmers need to be trained and supplied with better seeds.  

“Kailangan mura ang puhunan. Kaya may perang binigay sa Landbank at Development Bank of the Philippines. Kaso kung hindi nila ‘yun ibibigay sa farmers ay mahihirapan tayo to be competitive. Pero kung maganda ang implementation of the law we can do it,” she explained. 

(The capital must be affordable, that’s why money was given to the Landbank and Development Bank of the Philippines. If they don’t give that to the farmers, it will be difficult for us to be competitive. But if the implementation of the law is good we can do it.)

Vietnam example

Villar pointed out that Vietnam can produce palay, otherwise known as unhusked rice, at P6 per kilo. 

“Yun ang hinahabol natin eh. Sa P6 per kilo na palay times two para maging bigas so P12 ang puhunan. So kayang-kaya yung P20 kung tutuusin ‘di iba? Kaya lang kailangan ibaba. P12 [ang production rate] natin eh. Kailangan ibaba sa P6,” she noted. 

 (At P6 peso per kilo of palay, you can produce rice with P12 capital. So the P20 per kilo rice is possible, isn’t it? That’s why it needs to be lowered, our production rate is at P12, it needs to be lowered to P6.)

In September, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., said the P20 per kilo rice, which was one of his campaign promises, could still be realized once the Philippine agriculture sector and its cost of production normalizes. 

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