DA lowers 'Rice-for-All' selling price to P43/kilo

The Department of Agriculture (DA) is lowering the selling price of rice it is offering under its farmer-to-consumer market initiative or Kadiwa stores, reflecting the decreasing prices of the grain staple in the retail market.

At a press conference in Quezon City on Thursday, DA Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Arnel de Mesa announced that the Agriculture Department will start selling on Friday, October 11, P43 per kilo well-milled rice under its Rice-for-All program.

In August, the DA launched the Rice-for-All Program wherein it sells rice at P45 a kilo at select Kadiwa outlets. 

The initiative was an offshoot of the P29 Rice Program, which makes available subsidized rice at P29 per kilo only for indigent and vulnerable sectors.

The Rice-for-All program, on the other hand, is available to all consumers.

De Mesa said the downward adjustment of the selling price of the grain under the Rice-for-All Program from P45 a kilo to P43 per kilo was due to the easing of rice prices observed recently.

“Dahil nga bumababa na rin ‘yung presyo ng bigas (Because the price of rice has gone down),” the DA official said.

Based on the DA’s price monitoring in Metro Manila markets, the average price of local commercial well-milled rice ranges between P45 per kilo and P55 per kilo.

In March, when rice inflation was at its 15-year high of 24.4%, the average price of well-milled rice nationwide stood at P56.44 per kilo.

Early signs of stabilizing rice prices were already observed as rice inflation dropped to a single digit last month after trailing within high double-digits since late last year.

Rice inflation slowed down to 5.7% in September from 14.7% in August. 

“The vision is to lower the price of this staple food under the Rice-for-All program to the most affordable level possible,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said in a statement.

“Rice sold under this program will be accessible to more consumers, thanks to our planned expansion of the Kadiwa network. We expect to double our Kadiwa outlets this weekend as part of a broader goal of reaching 169 stores by the end of the year,” he added.

De Mesa said the DA’s Agribusiness Marketing Assistance Service is partnering with several farmer and fisherfolk cooperatives to expand the Kadiwa network.

He said an initial batch of 20 Kadiwa stores is set to be launched on October 11, in various locations throughout Metro Manila and in Calamba, Laguna. 

The 20 new Kadiwa store are located in the following areas:

1. Ocean Fish - Brgy. 8, Caloocan
2. Brgy 28 Zone 3 Caloocan City - Site 1
3. Brgy 28 Zone 3 Caloocan City - Site 2
4. BFAR - Longos, Malabon City
5. Kalt Alles - NFPC-PFDA, NBBN, Navotas
6. 18 Tuazon, Brgy. Potrero, Malabon
7. Kalt Alles - Potrero, Malabon
8. Sauyo, Quezon City
9. Brgy. Canlubang, Calamba,, Laguna Compound
10. Brgy. Daang Bakal, Mandaluyong
11. Brgy Hulo Mandaluyong City
12. Brgy. Addition Hills-
13. BFCT Bagsakan, No. 1 Marcos Highway, Marikina City
14. Brgy. Tanong, Marikina
15. Fortune Barangay Hall, Barangay Fortune, Marikina City
16. Concepcion Uno Barangay Hall, Concepcion Uno, Marikina City
17. Lot 12 Blk 4 R Thaddeus St. Marietta Romeo Village Brgy. Sta. Lucia Pasig City
18. No 4 Geronimo, Philand Drive, Brgy Pasong Tamo, QC
19. Zamora St. Cor A. Bonifacio, Brgy Sta. Lucia, Quezon City
20. Alley 4, Bulacan St., Brgy. Payatas B, Quezon City

De Mesa said the DA aims to have at least one Kadiwa store in each of the 1,500 municipalities, promoting a ”farm-to-market” approach that bypasses middlemen and increases farmers' revenues. —KBK, GMA Integrated News