Via contract farming, NIA eyeing P29 per kg rice by August

Rice nearly ready for harvest catch the morning sun at a farm in Tiaong town, Quezon province. | FILE PHOTO: ROMEO GACAD / AFP

MANILA, Philippines — The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) plans to sell rice at P29 per kilogram this August.

According to NIA Administrator Eduardo Guillen, there was already rice selling for P20 per kg at select NIA Kadiwa Stores from the irrigators’ association as a token of appreciation to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. 

“At NIA, we also have a big project – our contract farming… In fact, our estimate for that is we can sell at P29 per kilo by August,” Guillen said in a Palace briefing on Tuesday.

One of Marcos’ most famous campaign promises was to lower the price of rice to P20 per kg. 

However, rice prices are still high, with some selling it at almost P60 per kg —almost triple that of Marcos’ promise.