DA eyeing construction of deep piers to lower rice prices

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Saturday that it is looking into the construction of deep piers to reduce the logistic costs of farming supplies used in rice production.

According to DA Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa, the construction of this type of infrastructure would make the farming and production of rice more cost-efficient.

READ: DA eyes fewer rice imports this year

“Mahal din iyong input sa atin dahil iyong logistics, iyong binabanggit palagi ni Secretary Tiu Laurel iyong fertilizer na dadalhin ng Mindoro manggagaling pa iyon ng Bataan, so bago makarating iyong fertilizer from Bataan to Mindoro na nakailang lipat iyong tracking, ang laki ng gastos,” De Mesa said.

(The input is expensive due to logistics, that is what [DA] Secretary [Francisco] Tiu-Laurel is saying. The fertilizer that will be brought to Mindoro is coming from Bataan, so before the fertilizer reaches Mindoro from Bataan, it has undergone many transfers, which is very expensive.)

“So, kung mayroon tayong deep na pier – iyong malalim na pier, ang tawag nila nga doon ay panamax ba – malakihan, puwedeng doon na dalhin directly iyong barko, magdaong mas malaki iyong matitipid – bababa about P15 to P20 immediately iyong presyo ng inputs,” he added.

(So if we have a deep pier, what they call a panamax, the ship can be directly brought there, and a lot of money can be saved — the price of inputs will be reduced by about P15 to P20.)

READ: DA aims to reduce rice prices through mechanization

De Mesa added that the DA is looking to increase the Philippines’s rice productivity on par with its neighbors.

The DA added that the current national average is about 4.1 metric tons per hectare.