P20/kilo rice still possible - DA chief

The Department of Agriculture is working to achieve the P20-per-kilo rice campaign promise of President Marcos amid the high retail price of the staple, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said on Monday.

- BELLA CARIASO and JASPER EMMANUEL ARCALAS

"We are trying our best to figure out and think of ways (to achieve the P20 per kilo of rice). Almost every week, this (P20 per kilo of rice) is our major topic, on how to bring down (the retail price of rice) to the level of P20 (per kilo)," Tiu Laurel said in a television interview hours before the third State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Marcos yesterday.

Reducing the price of rice to P20 per kilo was one of the campaign promises Marcos made during the 2022 presidential race.

"It is for this reason that we started our initial target as we need to implement a step-by-step approach. If we can achieve our initial target and the P29 per kilo (of rice) becomes sustainable for our disadvantaged (sectors) in Kadiwa centers, we will try to expand this and try to lower (the retail prices of rice) up to P20 (per kilo)," Tiu Laurel said.

The Kadiwa outlets sell rice at P29 per kilo every Friday, Saturday and Sunday to vulnerable households that include members of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), solo parents, senior citizens and persons with disabilities.

"It involves a lot of things. It needs a whole-of-DA, wholeof-nation approach, from the cost of seeds, postharvest, roads, cheap fertilizer and the need for higher recovery of palay during drying," Tiu Laurel added.

Tiu Laurel said that the DA targets to increase the recovery rate of palay to 67 percent from 55 percent.