New DA chief Laurel on P20/kg rice: Today that's not possible

Newly appointed Department of Agriculture (DA) secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. on Monday said the P20 per kilo of rice that President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. promised during his campaign in 2022 is not possible at present.

At his first press briefing as DA secretary, Laurel said the department is hoping to get rice more affordable towards the end of 2024, acknowledging that doing so is “not easy.”

“The P20 per kilo was an aspiration, 'di ba? Ang problem now, we are in the 15-year high sa world market…Today that is not possible. But with ‘yung directive ni Presidente to modernize, irrigate, use the right seeds, mechanize, and all of that, maraming gagawin, we are getting ready to do our best, to try to make rice affordable na kayang kaya ng bulsa ng mamamayan,” he said.

(The P20 per kilo was an aspiration, right? The problem now is that we are at a 15-year high in the world market… Today that is not possible. But with the President's directive to modernize, irrigate, use the right seeds, mechanize, and all of that, we are getting ready to do our best, to try to make rice affordable for the people.)

“But of course, modernizing is not easy. May procurement process, may gano’n [there’s procurement process and such]. So it might take a little time, but we will do it as fast as possible,” he added.

What Laurel said is possible is lowering the price of rice though he did not mention the exact price.

“It is possible to lower the price, definitely. But we have to have our silos, we have to have buffer stock, we have to change some laws, I believe,” he said.

Marcos had said that bringing the price of rice to P20/kilo hinges on fixing the value chain, or the series of stages involved in producing a product or service that is sold to consumers, with each state adding to the value of the product or services.

According to Laurel, who replaced Marcos as the DA secretary on Friday, the President’s directive to him was to increase production across all agriculture sectors, particularly on rice.

“Basically, ang directive ni President Marcos is to increase production in almost all sectors ng agrikultura, all commodities. But of course may special emphasis sa bigas — modernize, irrigate, fertilize, and use the right type of seeds as soon as possible,” he said.

(Basically, the directive of President Marcos is to increase production in almost all sectors of agriculture, all commodities. But of course there’s special emphasis on rice.) —KBK, GMA Integrated News