The Manila City government has placed an additional order of 150 metric tons of organic black, brown, and red rice from Mindanao, boosting the sagging spirits of rice farmers adversely affected by the unimpeded entry of imported rice.

Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said the whole volume has already been delivered to Manila from Mindanao by a convoy of truck vans.

“Manila’s Organic Rice Program for its senior citizens has also attracted the attention of other Metro Manila cities who have already forwarded inquiries on how to buy the black, brown, and red rice from Mindanao. This growing demand for organic rice is expected to boost the program of MinDA which created a window for the region’s rice farmers adversely affected by the flooding of imported rice,” Piñol said in his Facebook post on Tuesday.

The new order is in addition to the first purchase worth over PHP40 million made by the City of Manila in September.

Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko” Moreno Domagoso ordered 500 metric tons of black, red, and brown organic rice for the city’s estimated 150,000 senior citizens.

Domagoso has started a program distributing organic rice to the city’s senior citizens which he said is healthier than giving them cakes for Christmas.

Piñol said MinDA has organized all organic rice farmers associations under the Mindanao Organic Rice Council (MORCO) which was formed last year to support the growing organic rice industry.

Don Bosco Multi-Purpose Cooperative, a pioneering farmers’ group in organic rice farming, is the coordinating organization for the Mindanao Organic Rice Program. (PNA)