About 542,000 beneficiaries have benefited from PHP4.3 billion worth of agricultural aid under the administration’s ‘Handog ng Pangulo: Serbisyong Sapat Para sa Lahat’, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Monday.

This, as the government culminated the Handog ng Pangulo 2026 alongside the celebration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s birthday on Sept. 14. The Chief Executive turned 69 on Sunday.

Handog ng Pangulo seeks to make government services and assistance more accessible to the public by bringing national agencies and local governments together.

In a statement, DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the services offered under the program seek to address the “practical needs” of Filipino food producers.

“We want to make sure our farmers have the support they need to produce more, earn more, and build more secure livelihoods,” he said.

Among the interventions provided are assistance for rice, corn, high-value crops, livestock, and fisheries sectors, as well as the Kadiwa ng Pangulo (KNP) and the Kabuhayan at Kaunlaran ng Kababayang Katutubo program.

This assistance covers the provision of farm inputs and production support to market access and livelihood programs.

It also included the rollout of the Benteng Bigas, Meron (BBM) Na, or the sale of PHP20 rice from both aging and non-aging good-quality stocks from the National Food Authority. (PNA)