Food security emergency likely to be declared on Feb. 4, Agri chief says
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The Department of Agriculture is eyeing to declare a food security emergency for rice on February 4, DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said Friday.
Tiu Laurel disclosed this in an ambush interview following his receipt of the recommendation from the National Price Coordinating Council.
"By Tuesday, malamang (most likely), we would be declaring the rice emergency," the DA secretary said.
According to the DA chief, the food emergency would "most likely" roll out starting Wednesday.
He said he will meet with the National Food Authority, Food Terminal Inc., and Kadiwa to "look at the plans" for the implementation of the rice emergency.
"That is very welcome dahil mababawasan ang laman ng mga warehouses. Matutuwa ang mga farmers na makakabili ang NFA ng bigas mula sa kanila dahil meron nang paglalagyan," Tiu Laurel said.
"Releasing 300,000 tons of rice to the market within six months, I think, will soften the market at hopefully, bumaba pa nang kaunti 'yung presyo ng bigas," he added.
(That is very welcome because the stocks in the warehouses will decrease. The farmers will be delighted because NFA will be able to buy rice from them because we have already released the stocks from the warehouses. Releasing 300,000 tons of rice within six months will soften the market and hopefully, the prices of rice will decrease because of this.)
Earlier, the National Price Coordinating Council approved a resolution urging the DA to declare a "food security emergency for rice" as the prices of the commodity remained high.
According to Trade and Industry Secretary Ma. Cristina Roque, who chairs the NPCC, the move will allow the NFA to release buffer stock of rice to stabilize prices, replacing released stocks with locally produced rice to support Filipino farmers.
She said this will empower the DTI to take decisive action in protecting consumer welfare while strengthening the country's agricultural backbone.
Currently, the NFA holds 300,000 metric tons of rice in buffer stocks. Releasing these reserves will help decongest warehouses in preparation for the February harvest.
Kadiwa ng Pangulo program
Meanwhile, the DA signed a memorandum of understanding with MerryMart Grocery, a company listed under DoubleDragon Corp., for its participation in the KADIWA ng Pangulo (KNP) program.
The DA and MerryMary arrived at the agreement after the DA held a meeting aimed at encouraging large retail networks to help widen the distribution of affordable rice options, such as the P29 rice and the Rice-for-All (RFA) program.
Under the terms of the agreement, MerryMart will offer rice at P29 per kilo, in alignment with the government’s P29 and Rice-for-All initiative.
According to the DA, the RFA offers several well-milled rice varieties, particularly RFA5, which is 5% broken and sold at P45 per kilo; RFA25, 25% broken and priced at P38 per kilo; and RFA100, or Sulit Rice, fully broken and sold at P36 per kilo.
The DA, however, clarified that the MOU does not impose any legally binding obligations on the parties but sets the groundwork for future, more specific commitments.
The said agreement will be in effect until December 31, 2028, subject to amendments or termination by either party with prior notice. — Hana Bordey/AOL/RSJ, GMA Integrated News