Marcos bats for Masagana 150, Masagana 200 rice programs

President and Agriculture Secretary Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Monday called for the operationalization of the “Masagana 150” and “Masagana 200” proposals of former Secretary William Dar, citing the looming food crisis.

During his meeting with officials of the Department of Agriculture (DA), Marcos said the main priority in the short term is to boost food supply given the global crisis.

“We have to attend to the impending food crisis, that it seems it will be visiting us in the next two quarters and when we look around the world, everyone is preparing for it,” he said.

Dar earlier warned of a looming food crisis, citing the lack of products available in the global market.

Dar has since pushed to boost rice production under the proposed Masagana 150 which would yield 7.5 tons of inbred rice per hectare at P8.38 production cost per kilogram.

This would translate to a net profit of P50,000 per hectare for farmers based on a market price of P27.50 per kilogram.

Meanwhile, the Masagana 200 aims to yield 10 tons of hybrid rice per hectare at a production cost of P7.82 per kilogram. This would give farmers a net of P70,000 based on a market price of P27.50 per kilogram.

The program would entail the shift from transplanted rice to direct seeded rice, with the practice of 40 kilograms-per-hectare seeding rate for inbred rice and 15 kilograms-per-hectare for hybrid.

“Masagana 150 tapos 200, these are good plans that we have to put into place. Let us operationalize them already,” Marcos said.

“If there are EOs (executive orders) that you might need, legislation that you might need, you draft them already and you give them to us and we’ll see kung alin ‘yung gagamitin natin doon [which ones we will use],” he added.

The proposals are based on Masagana 99 which was implemented by Marcos’ father — dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. — which was initiated to achieve rice self-sufficiency in the Philippines.

This was done through planting the “Miracle Rice” promoted by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) which could reportedly yield 99 sacks of rice per hectare.

The program, however, was discontinued due to issues regarding the credit subsidy component.

Former Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III — who served as Agriculture Secretary under former President Corazon Aquino — brought up the issues of the program during a Senate hearing with presidential sister and Senator Imee Marcos in 2020.

Dominguez noted that he was among those that needed to clean up the mess brought about by the program, as he said 800 rural banks were bankrupted by the program.

During his campaign, Marcos Jr. said he would recommend a price cap on rice to bring gown prices to as low as P20 per kilogram.

He has yet to provide specific details on the plan, which he later said was an aspiration. He added that he has since talked to traders and asked them to freeze prices.

Latest data from the DA show that local commercial rice prices range from P38 to P50 per kilogram, and imported commercial rice from P37.00 to P50 per kilogram in Metro Manila as of Monday, July 4, 2022.

Marcos on Monday said that aside from rice, corn production also needs to be increased in the short term.

“Again, of course, the immediate one is rice, corn, food supply for the rest of the year number one. So if there are some EOs again and some legislation you will need, even budget, supplementary budget from the House, tignan natin kung may makuha pa tayo [let us see if we can still get some.],” he said.

Latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) show that the crops subsector posted a 1.6% contraction in the first quarter of the year, with palay (unmilled rice) down by 1.9% and corn by 0.2%.

For the long term, Marcos again called for the establishment of a multiyear plan to address the value chain, which would detail a roadmap up to 2028 or 2030.

“Do not be hesitant to make it multi-year because I don’t believe you can do this if you say one year or three years, even six years baka kulang [may not be enough],” he said.

“We have to think very hard about making sure that people have the same, have sufficient food, number one, at the price that they can afford because again, it’s useless to have food if they cannot afford it,” he added.

Marcos also called for an assessment of the DA on the Rice Tariffication Law, and the proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

The Rice Tariffication Law took effect on March 5, 2019, which effectively imposed 35% tariffs on imports from neighbors in Southeast Asia.

It was signed into law by former President Rodrigo Duterte in February of the same year.

The measure allows unlimited importation of rice as long as private sector traders secure a phytosanitary permit from the Bureau of Plant Industry and pay the 35-percent tariff for shipments from neighbors in Southeast Asia.

Meanwhile, the RCEP seeks to broaden and deepen the engagement between ASEAN member states and six trade partners to enhance participation in the economic development of the region.

“The programs that we talked about, just give me a baseline of what has been done, how it’s been done, etcetera para alam ko ‘yung ginagawa, ‘yung tinatrabaho ng programa [so I know the inner workings of the program],” Marcos said. —NB, GMA News