DA to get 90% of subsidized rice next year from farmers – BusinessWorld Online
THE Department of Agriculture (DA) would obtain 80-90% of rice for next year’s subsidized rice program from local farmers and the rest from imports, targeting 1.5 million metric tons worth P29 billion, its chief told congressmen at a House of Representatives hearing on Monday.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. said sourcing from imports would significantly cut costs but insisted that supporting local farmers must remain the priority.
“This might be controversial, but if we want to make it cheap, we could wholly source it from imported rice and it would only cost us P7 billion,” Mr. Laurel told lawmakers in Filipino.
He added that sustaining the government’s P20-per-kilo rice program would be difficult without continued state intervention.
Mr. Laurel said the sourcing mix seeks to balance affordability for consumers with income support for farmers, noting that rice imports will serve mainly as a buffer to stabilize supply. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio
