DA rolls out ‘Bigas ng Masa’ affordable rice program

FILE: To make it more accessible to more Filipinos, the DA said Bigas ng Masa outlets can be set up in the regions, where farmers’ cooperatives can directly sell the affordable rice to consumers. (Pixabay photo)

MANILA — The Department of Agriculture (DA) set its “Bigas ng Masa” affordable rice program rolling on Wednesday, initially launching it in Quezon City and shortly farming it out to its regional offices nationwide.

To make it more accessible to more Filipinos, the DA said Bigas ng Masa outlets can be set up in the regions, where farmers’ cooperatives can directly sell the affordable rice to consumers.

“We’ll help market their rice,” Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said in a media briefing Wednesday.

Aside from helping farmers earn, he said such marketing assistance under the Bigas ng Masa would eliminate price-raising layers of middlemen and other players crowding the supply chain, so consumers can buy rice that’s generally cheaper than what’s sold in the market.

With Bigas ng Masa, DA said consumers can buy quality rice at PHP38 per kilogram.

The DA assured looking into interventions that would further lower rice prices without draining the farmers’ income.

Piñol expressed disappointment over reported increases in commercial prices of rice after reports that the National Food Authority has dwindling rice stocks.

He said this should not be the case, as rice harvest in the country even increased last year, based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority.

The DA and International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) assured the country’s rice situation is under control, noting “there’s enough rice for everybody” for 92 days straight. (PNA)