'Rice-for-All' program to offer affordable rice soon — DA

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) is set to launch a new program aimed at selling rice at prices lower than the current market rates.

In a forum on Saturday, Agriculture Assistant Secretary Genevieve Guevarra said that the agency's "Rice-for-All" program will be launched in the following weeks to provide affordable rice prices.

"On the works na rin po iyong ating 'Rice-for-All' naman, kung saan mayroon po tayong papalabas din na bigas po na mas mura kaysa doon sa prevailing nating market prices," Guevarra said.

(Our "Rice-for-All" program is underway, and we will soon be offering rice at prices below the current market rates.)

According to Guevarra, rice prices in the program will range from P45 to P48 per kilo.

She added that the DA plans to roll out the "Rice-for-All" program in KADIWA centers first before expanding it to other areas.

"Ito po ay para sa lahat po, hindi po necessarily vulnerable sector. So, kahit sino po puwedeng makabili at wala pong limit although ang sinasabi po natin ngayon ay puwede silang bumili kung mayroon pong 25 kilos na sacks ay puwede po silang bumili ng isang sako," she said.

(This is for everyone, not necessarily the vulnerable sector. So, anyone can buy and there is no limit. Although we are saying that they can purchase one sack if there are 25-kilo sacks available.)

On July 5, the DA rolled out "Program 29" which offered P29 per kilo of rice in 10 KADIWA stores in Metro Manila and Bulacan.

Unlike the "Rice-for-all" program, the "Program 29" can only be availed by eligible beneficiaries like senior citizens, single parents, persons with disability and Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program recipients.

Each beneficiary of "Program 29" is also limited to purchasing 10 kilos of rice monthly.

According to the DA's price monitoring, local well-milled rice had an average price of P51.5, regular milled stood at P49.03 and special rice at P49.03 in the last week of June.

This is significantly higher than the prices offered in the agency's rice programs.

On Friday, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported an increase in food inflation, noting that rice inflation rose to 23%, up from June's 22.5%. — with reports from Gabrielle Christel Galang.