Can DA achieve P20-per-kilo of rice? Usec says he can't answer

Bringing down the price of a kilo of rice to P20 is a bit difficult, Agriculture Undersecretary Leocadio Sebastian said on Tuesday.

At the deliberation of the agency's proposed P181-billion budget for 2024, Sebastian said the pricing of the Filipino staple depended on how the market would play.

Told that the government's rice self-sufficiency program should include pricing especially since P20-per-kilo was President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s campaign promise, Sebastian said, “Iyong P20 per kilo, medyo mahirap."

(That P20-per-kilo is a bit difficult.)

Marcos is also the Secretary of Agriculture. Bringing the price of rice to P20 a kilo was one of his campaign promises in Eleksyon 2022.

Basilan Rep. Mujiv Hataman, a deputy speaker in the House of Representatives, pressed DA officials if bringing down rice prices to P20 per kilo was part of the DA’s plan.

“We want to ensure good income for our farmers, that is our main objective,” Sebastian said.

“Ang tinatanong ko, kung kasama sa plano," said Hataman. "Bakit hindi natin sabihin ngayon kung bakit hindi kasama sa plano?”

(What I'm asking is whether it's part of the plan. Why can't we say now why it is not part of thye plan?)

Sebastian quoted the President and said, “It is our aspiration.”

He later said, “I cannot answer,” when Hataman asked if the DA  could bring down rice prices to P20 per kilo.

Market forces

Hataman had asked if P20-per-kilo was possible if the DA achieved its goal of 95 to 97% self-sufficiency by the end of Marcos’ term in 2028.

“That is a market...[it] depends on the market on how it will play," Sebastian said. 

"If we are able to improve our value chain, reduce the cost of the post-harvest cost, reduce the cost of production, [it will] not [be] P20, but at least we can maintain a low price that is affordable.”

Sebastian explained that the post-harvest production cost was the price of every kilo of palay multiplied by two when it should be ideally at 1.5.

“I think our objective should be affordability for our population,” the Agriculture Undersecretary added.

Hataman countered that “affordability is very relative.”

“Dapat kasama sa self-sufficiency program ang presyo. Hindi simpleng available yung bibilhin, dapat affordable, lalo na DA Secretary ang Pangulo ang campaign promise ito ng Pangulo,” Hataman added.

(The self-sufficiency plan should include the price. It is not enough for the rice to be available, it should be affordable, especially since the President is the DA chief and this is his campaign promise.)

Buffer stock

During the same hearing, Agriculture Undersecretary Mercedita Sombilla said that the rice buffer stock for this month and September was thin, thus the need for imported rice to come in by September 15.

“Manipis po kasi ang ating [rice] buffer [stock], and we are in the lean months. Nagha-harvest pa lang tayo,” Sombilla said.

“The peak harvest time is mid-October to November, so we are hoping to get imports this month, up to September 15, to stabilize local prices,” Sombilla said.

DA officials said that the range of rice prices per kilo was P40 to P60 per kilo.

Kabataan party-list Raoul Manuel also quizzed Sombilla if a P20 per kilo rice price was possible in the next two years.

Sombilla said, “Baka mahirap po (That might be difficult)."

Manuel responded, “At least alam ng mga kababayan natin (at least, the public is informed)." — DVM/NB, GMA Integrated News