DA seeks P9/kg rice production cost

The country must have a lower production cost of rice to be competitive for the ASEAN market, the Department of Agriculture said on Wednesday.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala told researchers, scientists, and other personnel of the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) to sustain their efforts to achieve a production cost of P9 per kilogram before 2017. At P9/kg, farmers are in the sweet spot to increase production and make the sector competitive within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region.

PhilRice is now running a “Palayabangan” project which to level up rice production at 10 tons per hectare with an input cost of P5/kg of palay.

“Kung mapapanatili natin ang halaga ng produksyon ng palay sa P5 kada kilo, magiging mas mababa pa ito sa production cost ng Vietnam na nasa P6.53 bawat kilo. Naniniwala ako na kung mailalagay natin sa P9 kada kilo bago mag-2017 ay magiging competitive tayo,” Alcala noted.

PhilRice produced 70 rice varieties in the last 30 years, and developed 24 rice machines and 23 patents in rice research and distribution. – Jon Viktor Cabuenas/VS, GMA News