TARGET BENEFICIARIES. Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel De Mesa talks to the media on Tuesday (June 18, 2024). He said 30 percent of the population will benefit from the sale of PHP29 per kilogram of rice in various Kadiwa sites. (PNA photo by Stephanie Sevillano)

MANILA – The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Tuesday said the 30% target population, including those with weaker purchasing power, will benefit from the sale of PHP29 per kilogram of rice in various Kadiwa sites.

“Ang intensyon noon is para sa targeted beneficiary na mostly iyong mga mahihirap, tsaka seniors, atsaka iyong mga solo parents (Its intention is for the targeted beneficiaries who are mostly the poor, elderly, and single parents). That’s about 30 percent of the total population,” said DA Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa in an ambush interview.

He said persons with disabilities (PWDs) and beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) are also included in the subsidized rice sale.

De Mesa said the mechanics for the rice sale and distribution are still being finalized.

“Pinag-aaralan pa rin ngayon, iyong number of kilos na ipapamigay sa kanila, part pa rin iyon ng pinag-aaralan kung gaano maraming kilos kada buwan (It’s still under study, the number of kilograms to be distributed to them, that’s part of the study on how many kilograms per month),” he said.

To date, the DA is conducting a trial sale of PHP29/kg. of rice in select Kadiwa sites, prioritizing 4Ps beneficiaries, solo parents, PWDs, and senior citizens, with the allowed volume set at 3 kg per buyer.

The subsidized pricing scheme may be rolled out in August through the National Irrigation Administration (NIA)’s contract farming program with farmers’ cooperatives.

Earlier, the NIA said around 100,000 metric tons of rice equivalent to 10 million sacks of 10 kg. rice can be produced, with 4 million sacks targeted to be distributed in August.

De Mesa said others who are not included in the select beneficiaries may still enjoy the expected lower rice retail prices following the tariff reduction from 35 to 15 percent.

“Iyong target na pagbaba (The target of lower price) because of tariff, ang target is the general public,” he said.

Eliminating rebagging

The National Food Authority (NFA), meanwhile, said it is finalizing a plan to eliminate rebagging to save more funds.

NFA administrator Larry Lacson said this strategy makes NFA act like a trader since its end product is milled rice and not palay.

He also mentioned a significant estimated amount of savings with the waiving of 10 million NFA sacks costing PHP13 each.

“That’s roughly PHP130 million. Sa handling cost, siguro (In handling cost, maybe) PHP30 per bag, that’s PHP300 million. So that’s totaling to more or less half a billion savings na pwedeng ma-save ni NFA (that the NFA can save) just by tweaking that particular process,” he said.

Earlier, Lacson vowed to push for more cost-effective reforms in the NFA to avoid corruption and improve strategies to meet the country’s national buffer stock alongside support to local farmers. (PNA)