President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. assured farmers that prices of palay or unmilled rice will not decline further, despite the government’s P20-per-kilogram program.

Marcos said the National Food Authority (NFA) will continue to buy palay from farmers at P18 per kilo for fresh or wet, and P19 to P23 per kilo for clean and dry amid market prices of rice have gone down.

Just last week, farmers in Mangaldan, Pangasinan reported that wet palay was being sold at P9 to P10 per kilo, while sun-dried palay seels for just P14 to P15 per kilo, down from P18 to P24 per kilo last year.

The NFA in May also said it monitored palay prices as low as P11.50 per kilo, and some other areas with buying prices reported at P13 to P15 per kilo.

Marcos said the reason that traders are able to shortchange farmers in buying palay is because they do not have processing, which is why they only have wet palay, forcing them to sell these at whatever price the trader dictates.

“Kaya naman ay nagkakalat po tayo ng mga rice processing plant. Daan daan na mga dryer para ‘yung farmer, meron na siyang dryer, mamimili na siya kung saan niya dadalhin ‘yung tuyo na niya na palay, kaya’t hindi siya mapipilitan maipagbili ‘yung kaniyang palay kung anong presyo ang binibigay sa kaniya ng trader,” he added.

Earlier, the NFA said it procured 14 trucks that will be deployed in areas with low buying prices of palay, and acquire these stocks from farmers to be transported into warehouses with capacity. It plans to buy a total of 90 trucks this year, and a total of 600 trucks by 2028.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. in January said the NFA also set to buy at least 300,000 metric tons of rice this year, with optimism that the country will hit a record for palay production.

Under its mandate, the NFA is tasked to maintain sufficient rice buffer stocks to be sourced mainly from local farmers. The agency, for its part, said it is also mandated to keep and dispose of 99.9% of stocks in good and consumable condition.