Expanding subsidized rice program difficult — DA

EXPANDING the coverage of a subsidized rice program for low-income Filipinos is “difficult” at this time, a Department of Agriculture (DA) official said on Tuesday, noting the plan could cost the government P50 billion annually.

“[A] P29 [per kilo of rice] for everybody… would require tremendous resources on the part of the government, and the fiscal space is limited for us,” DA Undersecretary Asis G. Perez told congressmen in mixed English and Filipino.

“Considering that will probably require P50 billion or even more annually, it is quite difficult to do at this time,” he said before a joint House committee tackling government programs addressing food security.

The Agriculture department, earlier this year, started selling below-market-price rice grains at select Kadiwa ng Pangulo outlets nationwide for vulnerable individuals, including persons with disabilities, solo parents, senior citizens, and beneficiaries of the government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

The subsidized rice program aims to provide about 6.9 million vulnerable households with access to the staple food.

Initial estimates of the Agriculture department showed demand for subsidized P29 rice at 69,000 metric tons per month.

Beneficiaries of the rice subsidy program are estimated at more than 34 million vulnerable individuals. Each beneficiary is entitled to purchase about 10 kilograms per month.

“We have to prioritize who will receive the affordable rice, that’s why we’re focusing on the vulnerable sector,” said Mr. Perez.

“But we intend to reach out to as many vulnerable sectors as possible,” he added.

In a Nov. 6 Facebook post, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. directed the DA and the Department of Budget and Management to expand the P29 per kilo rice program as well as increase Kadiwa centers to 300 from 21 by mid-2025.

About 704,124 kilograms of rice were sold through the P29 rice program at Kadiwa stores since July, providing about 140,800 households with cheap rice, according to a November statement by the Presidential Communications Office. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio