DA rolls out ‘Bigas ng Masa TienDA’ next week in Metro Manila

Starting next week, the Department of Agriculture (DA) will deploy “Bigas ng Masa TienDA” mobile trucks to poor neighborhoods in Metro Manila to offer a cheaper rice alternative to consumers.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol announced this on Tuesday during a House hearing on the National Food Authority’s  rice shortage.

“We’ll be helping our farmers sell their rice directly to consumers without need for any trader or middleman as go-between. This is also to help our fellow Filipinos who cannot afford the expensive rice in the market that is now at P40 to P50 per kilo,” he said.

The department began “Bigas ng Masa TienDA” a few weeks ago by setting up regional outlets.

This will be the first time the program will use trucks to sell rice at P38 per kilo. —Karl R. Ocampo