Farmers in the town of Biliran, Biliran, have been selling rice at only PHP20 per kilogram as a way of giving back to communities after receiving several aids from the government.

Biliran municipal agriculture officer Lemuel Antonio said that despite selling rice at a lower price, farmers still gain from this trade.

“Farmers earn as much as 35 percent under this scheme. The PHP20 per kilo of rice is realistic under the localized food security program. All the assistance from the government, including incentives from the local government, is enough for them to be able to sell cheap rice,” he said in an interview Friday.

Antonio has been meeting with local agriculture officers in Leyte and Samar provinces to convince them to adopt the strategy.

Participating in the program are 470 rice farmers who are tilling 700 hectares. Since last year, farmers have already sold 70 metric tons of rice in Biliran town, giving high priority to poor families with malnourished children.

Under the scheme, farmers mill their rice instead of selling palay (unhusked rice) to private traders. The rice is available in Kadiwa stores set up in villages on a weekly basis.

“We cut operational expenses by eliminating middlemen and mobilizing volunteers to bring and sell the rice in villages. Buyers are even asked to bring their containers or bags, not to add up to the selling cost,” Antonio said.

He said rice farmers still gain since they get free fertilizer and a high-yielding variety of seeds from the Department of Agriculture.

Each bag of fertilizer costs PHP2,000, while a bag of rice seeds costs nearly PHP1,000. Some farmers get more than one bag of fertilizer and seeds. They also get incentives for production from the office of Mayor Myra Cabrales.

Farmers also get PHP5,000 in unconditional cash assistance pledged by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. under the Rice Farmer Financial Assistance program.

“We don’t even consider all this assistance a subsidy since these are regular government programs. Our farmers get support from the government. In return, they sell their produce at a lower cost as part of their social responsibility,” Antonio added.

Biliran, a 5th-class town, is the first municipality in Eastern Visayas to respond to the vision of President Marcos to lower the price of rice to PHP20 per kilo. (PNA)