Gov't mulls province-specific floor price to rescue palay prices

The government is planning to implement a province-specific floor price mechanism as part of a wider policy to improve prices of palay (unmilled rice), which has fallen to as low as P6 per kilo, according to the National Food Authority.

- By DEXTER BARRO II

NFA Administrator Larry Lacson stated on Tuesday, Sept. 30, that the proposed floor price for buying palay is currently being developed at the Department of Agriculture (DA), headed by Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel.

Tiu Laurel was recently directed by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to help draft an executive order (EO) addressing the most urgent needs of farmers.

The proposed EO, which covers other reforms aimed at improving farmers’ income, will potentially include a pricing scheme tailored to each province.

The DA has since directed its regional field offices nationwide to calculate their respective local production costs.

Lacson said every rice-producing province has distinct “peculiarities” that make their production cost higher or lower than the nationwide average, making it unwise to set a standard floor price for the entire country.

For instance, he said a high-yielding province would typically see lower production costs. Other factors at play include the availability of farm workers and access to farm machinery.