More households are availing of the PHP25 per kilogram (kg.) rice in Negros Occidental.

On Wednesday afternoon, the “Bigasan ng Bayan” went to Pulupandan town, where 450 residents each availed five kg. of rice sold by farmers from the Federation of Irrigators Association of Central Negros-Bago River Irrigation System (FIACN-BRIS).

As a Valentine’s Day gift, the amount of PHP15 per kilo was shouldered by Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, Mayor Miguel Antonio Peña and Councilor Federico Infante Jr. for the beneficiaries to pay only PHP10 per kg.

“This is the fourth time. The first two were in Bacolod. We realized it only benefited those in Bacolod. Why not in the Fourth District where the FIACN-BRIS is based? We started in Bago City and now we are in Pulupandan,” Lacson said in his message during the launch of “Bigasan ng Bayan” held as part of the municipality’s Agro Trade Fair 2024.

FIACN-BRIS president Pedro Limpangog said they sell good quality rice at only PHP25 per kilo.

“We are looking to sustain this initiative and be continued by the next generation of farmers to encourage more people to go into farming and help the community,” he added.

Infante, vice chairman of the Municipal Council’s committee on agriculture, lauded the FIACN-BRIS for voluntarily selling rice at a lower price.

“For us to avail of this, they are giving back the efforts of the Department of Agriculture and the province for the benefits not only to stay in one sector but can be availed by all,” he said.

The “Bigasan ng Bayan”, a partnership between the provincial government and the FIACN-BRIS, started in October last year at the province’s Food Terminal Market in Bacolod, and was followed by another in November.

In December, PHP25 per kilo of rice was also sold in Bago City.

Priority consumers of “Bigasan ng Bayan” are senior citizens, indigents, and persons with disabilities, who can each avail up to 5 kgs only.

The provincial government has been collaborating with the FIACN-BRIS, which is under the National Irrigation Administration-Negros Occidental Irrigation Management Office, for its Dagyaw Project to produce high-yield rice at a lower production cost with the assistance of job order workers, who are also association members, in planting crops and operating farm machinery. (PNA)