IN THE KNOW: Masagana 99

Masagana 99, Ferdinand Marcos’ rice productivity program which ran from the early 1970s to mid-‘80s, was aimed at achieving rice self-sufficiency.

Under the program, cheap loans were made available to farmers to help them increase their harvest to 99 sacks of rice (4,900 kilograms) per hectare. Apart from credit, farmers were also given access to improved technology, price support for rice and provision of low-cost fertilizer.

With the initial success of Masagana 99, rice production increased, the Philippines briefly became self-sufficient, and the country was even able to export rice then. The program, however, failed as unsophisticated borrowers, in many cases prodded by the government to borrow, defaulted on their loans en masse. —Inquirer Research

Sources: Inquirer Archives