File photo shows a Kadiwa Center in Quezon City (LYN RILLON / INQUIRER)
MANILA – Consumers can enjoy more and cheaper rice options at the Kadiwa ng Pangulo (KNP) centers and kiosks, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said Friday.
In an ambush interview, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said these options would be accessible to more Filipinos with the expansion of the KNP in other areas, in collaboration with national government agencies and local government units.
“Apat iyon (That would be four options). So, just to inform everybody ang target namin (our target) by the end of February – 180 palengkes (markets) in Metro Manila,” he said.
The four options are the Rice for All 5 (RFA 5), which is 5 percent broken and sells for PHP45 per kg.; RFA 25, which is 25 percent broken rice sold at PHP40 per kg; RFA 100, also known as Sulit rice, is 100 percent broken at PHP36 per kg; and P29 or the aging but good quality rice stock of the National Food Authority (NFA) sold to vulnerable sectors at PHP29 per kg.
Supplies under the Rice for All will come from Food Terminals, Inc. (FTI).
Tiu Laurel said he is set to meet with Metro Manila mayors to ensure the timely expansion of KNP sites, which the DA hopes would help drive down the market retail prices of rice.
Sulit rice
Tiu Laurel and Trade Secretary Cristina Roque, meanwhile, showed the quality of Sulit rice during a public taste test.
He said the variety, although incomparable with 5 percent broken rice, is considered acceptable.
“Today is not yet the official launching of Sulit rice but gusto nating makita (we want to see), basically, it’s a market visit, to see iyong (the) acceptability of Sulit rice,” Tiu Laurel said.
“Iyong mga 100 percent broken is a by-product iyan na ibinibenta talaga ng rice miller nang mura (This 100 percent broken is a by-product being sold by rice millers at a cheaper price). That is why it is not a subsidy.”
He, however, noted the need to know the “perfect” strategy for milling to match the quality of imported ones for Sulit rice.
“Nakita namin iyong quality ng Sulit rice na imported, maganda (We saw the quality of imported Sulit rice, it’s good). I’m now figuring out kung paano natin gagawin iyon dito sa Pilipinas, sa (how to replicate that in our) rice processing systems. I believe we have the technology to do it,” Tiu Laurel said.
To date, the sale of Sulit rice is still undergoing trial in three select sites – Murphy market, FTI, and one LRT station in Metro Manila.