The Department of Agriculture (DA) formally launched the “Benteng Bigas Meron Na (BBM) Para sa Magsasaka” program at the National Food Authority (NFA) Balagtas Warehouse 3 on Wednesday morning.
DA Assistant Secretary Genevieve Velicaria-Guevarra said the program stemmed from the request of farmers who also wanted to avail of the affordable rice.
“At definitely sila naman ang ating producer talaga, kaya ang ating programa ay open arms at ginawa na rin itong programa para sila na rin ay makapag-avail (And definitely they are our producers, so our program is open arms and we made this program so they can also avail of it),” Guevarra said. “Ang priority ng programa sa ngayon ay yung may 2 hectares and below at pati na rin yung mga walang lupa na nagtatrabaho rin sa bukid (The priority of the program for now is those with 2 hectares and below and also those without land who also work in the fields),” she said in an interview.
Small farmers registered in the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) who farm two hectares of land or less and farmworkers are eligible. They can purchase up to 10 kg. per month and can avail of one 50-kg. sack of rice until December.
Guevarra added that 18 NFA warehouses launched the program on Wednesday, with a target of expanding to more than 100 warehouses nationwide by September. The NFA warehouses are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Zenaida Agustin, a farmer from Barangay Santo Rosa 2, Marilao, praised the initiative.
“This project of PBBM (President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.) is very good because in reality we can now buy rice for P20. I hope this program for farmers will be extended so that more farmers can benefit,” Agustin said.
Emelita Agapito, from Barangay Bunlo, Bocaue, added, “Even though we were only allotted 50 kg., this is a great help and a great program by our President. It is a big saving for small farmers like us because it is only PHP20 per kilo. We also hope that this program will be extended because this is a great help to us.”
Meanwhile, the local government unit of Pandi is also implementing the “P20/kg. Rice for Pandi residents” program in each barangay.
According to Pandi Mayor Rico Roque, all residents who hold an E-Card can avail of this program, with each cardholder able to buy five kilos of rice.
“If a family has five people with an E-Card, they can buy five packs of five kilos each,” Roque said, adding that the E-Card is used to protect the funds released by the Pandi LGU from misuse and to prevent people from other towns from buying from them. (PNA)
