The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) on Tuesday assured the sustainable sale of Bagong Bayaning Magsasaka (BBM) rice at PHP29 per kilogram for vulnerable sectors, including members of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and solo parents.
“Lahat ng regions and provinces mayroon po nito. In fact, iyong iba nating mga provinces, dinadala pa sa mga iba’t ibang munisipyo para lahat makinabang (All of the regions and provinces have this. In fact, other provinces are bringing this to different municipalities for everyone to benefit),” NIA Administrator Eduardo Guillen said during the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon briefing in Quezon City.
To date, the NIA reported the sale of 1.14 million kilograms of BBM rice worth PHP33.15 million, benefiting 114,300 individuals nationwide.
“Masarap daw iyong BBM rice kaya bumalik, bibili na naman. So, hindi mo rin masisi ang ating kababayan. Pero ina-assure po natin sila na basta’t nakapila kayo diyan sa amin, pagbebentahan kayo hindi nila kailangan pumila ng gabi (They say the BBM rice tastes good, that’s why they keep coming back to buy again. So, we can’t blame our fellow Filipinos. But we assure them that as long as you line up, you will be accommodated, you don’t need to line up by night),” he said.
The first batch of BBM rice came from the 55,011 metric tons (MT) of palay harvest under the NIA’s contract farming.
An additional 110,414 MT palay harvest for the program is expected to arrive from the Oct. 1 to Dec. 30 cropping, according to NIA.
Guillen said NIA requested to utilize an additional PHP6 billion in unprogrammed funds to sustain contract farming on 120,000 hectares of land.
The land area may produce 600,000 MT of palay, equivalent to 300,000 MT of rice, he said.
The NIA aims to sell half of its contract farming harvest of around 300,000 MT of palay to the National Food Authority (NFA) at PHP23 per kg, which could generate PHP6.9 billion in income.
The remaining half will be allocated to the Department of Agriculture — 75,000 MT to Kadiwa ng Pangulo to be sold at PHP29/kg, generating PHP2.175 billion; and 75,000 MT to Rice for All, which could generate PHP3.375 billion.
“So, all in all, i-kwenta mo iyan, nasa PHP12.450 billion iyong pagbebentahan natin (if you compute it, sales would be around PHP12.450 billion),” Guillen said, adding that the figure is a “breakeven” for contract farmers.
To date, the NIA grants PHP6/kg share for the capital buildup of participating contract farmers cooperatives, around PHP6 billion in farm input payments, and PHP6 billion in compensation.
“Diyan po makikita na posible iyong sinasabi ng Presidente (Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.) na kaya talaga nilang pababain ang presyo ng bigas ng may kita pa ang ating (This is where we can see that our President’s statements are possible when he said that the prices of rice can be lowered while securing an income for our) farmers,” he said.
Guillen, meanwhile, expressed delight with the increased budget for NIA, which will help modernize the irrigation sector.
Under the proposed National Expenditure Program, the NIA will receive PHP42.5 billion in 2025, slightly up from last year’s PHP41.7 billion. (PNA)
