Farm modernization program on track – Yap

Agriculture  Secretary Arthur C. Yap said yesterday the government is on track in fulfilling the commitments made by President Arroyo in her past State-of-the-Nation Addresses (SONA) which is to modernize the farm and fisheries sector.

Yap said the programs undertaken by the Department of Agriculture (DA) to increase food production are in step with the President’s three-pronged approach to fulfil her SONA goal of “Pagkain sa Bawat Mesa.”

Yap said that from January to June this year, the Arroyo administration spent P8.6 billion to bring P18.25-a-kilo rice to the poor through the Tindahan Natin outlets nationwide

He said the program involves guaranteeing the adequate supply of rice and other staples in the market; widening the access of low-income consumers to affordably priced food; and prosecuting food hoarders and profiteers.

To ensure the stable supply of rice, Yap said the DA is sustaining its aggressive procurement and distribution strategy.

This involves sourcing rice from local and foreign sources to prop up the National Food Authority’s buffer stocks and selling the staple at government-subsidized prices to low-income consumers.

The Arroyo administration’s unmatched spending on agriculture, Yap said has resulted in a record palay production of 16.24 million metric tons last year.

Palay production this year is projected to reach another peak of 17.32 million MT.

Under the DA’s five-harvest Rice Self-Sufficiency Plan, palay production is expected to reach 18.55 million MT in 2009 and 19.77 million MT in 2010 for a 98-percent rice self-sufficiency level.

Yap noted that rice prices in the country remain relatively low compared to those of other countries, including rice-exporting economies.

President Arroyo noted last week that in Thailand, the grain costs an equivalent of P56 a kilo; and in Vietnam, P67 a kilo. In the Philippines certain varieties of commercial rice are sold for as low as P33 or P34 a kilo by the NFA and other retail outlets.

Thailand and Vietnam are the world’s top rice exporters.

The NFA likewise sells government-subsidized rice at P18.25, which is lower compared to Indonesia’s subsidized rice equivalent to P25.30 a kilo and Malaysia’s, which is at P27 a kilo.