Agri-10 boosts affordability and access toAgri-10 boosts affordability and access to rice in NorMin

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — Emphasizing its goal of stabilizing rice prices and ensuring sufficient supply in the market, the Department of Agriculture – Regional Field Office 10 (DA-RFO 10), headed by Regional Executive Director (RED) Jose Apollo Y. Pacamalan, reiterated the agency’s aim to safeguard both consumers and local farmers from the adverse effects of price volatility.

In an interview on Wednesday, January 29, RED Pacamalan explained that both the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) and the Food Security Emergency are policies designed to secure the country’s rice supply by improving access, lowering prices, mitigating risks, and stabilizing the food supply in times of crisis.

With the 15 percent reduction in tariffs on rice imports, the agri chief exec urged local retailers to strictly comply with lowering their rice prices to help ease inflation.

“Mao na karun nga naa gyud tay supplier nga naa sa PhP37 [per kilo] ang presyo kay mao gyud nay immediate effect sa pagreduce sa taripa. Kung ang presyo karun sa imported sa retail naa sa PhP40, tungod kay gireduce ang taripa natu gikan sa 35 to 15 percent, ang epekto niini naa sa PhP5 ang reduction sa price (That’s why we now have a supplier whose price is at PhP37 [per kilo] because that is the immediate effect of reducing the tariff. If the current retail price of imported rice is PhP40, the tariff reduction from 35 to 15 percent has resulted in approximately PhP5 price drop),” the director said.

Meanwhile, in addressing the food security emergency, RED Pacamalan highlighted that the declaration will allow government agencies to prioritize food production and distribution to meet demand, as well as implement stricter price monitoring and regulation to prevent unreasonable price hikes.

Moreover, the declaration will also grant the National Food Authority (NFA) the legal provision to release its existing buffer stocks to the local market, providing consumers with more options for lower-priced local rice.

“Ang impact niini, ang mga local government unit pwede na mo request [rice supply] pinaagi sa DA paingon sa NFA para sa ilang mga KADIWA center aron kining mga bugas nga ang presyo mokabat lamang sa PhP38, matagamtam usab sa atung mga konsumedor (The impact of this is that local government units can now request [rice supply] through the DA to be sourced from the NFA for their KADIWA centers, allowing consumers to access local rice priced at PhP38),” he added.

In closing, the regional head also shared that in line with the initiatives provided by the agency to the local rice farmers, the DA has now increased the subsidies intended for these farmer-beneficiaries to enhance productivity and reduce production costs.

Some of the key assistance programs include but are not limited to, fertilizer and input subsidies, mechanization support, financial assistance, crop insurance, market and price support, irrigation and infrastructure, and research and training.

“Ang subsidy sa DA more or less naa between 12 to 15 percent ang ma minus sa iyang [rice farmer] cost of production. Eventually, pagmerkado niini mo ubos gyud ang presyo sa humay aron dili kaayu ma apektohan ang atung mga konsumedor. Kana nga balanse mao gina paningkamotan sa DA-10 (The DA subsidy will reduce the [rice farmer’s] cost of production by about 12 to 15 percent. Eventually, as the rice reaches the market, its price will decrease, ensuring that consumers are not heavily affected. This balance is what DA-10 is striving to achieve),” he concluded.# (EJLG)