By PIA-Bohol | 09:38 AM May 31, 2025
Apart from Senior citizens, persons with disabilities and solo parents, the soon to be distributed P20 per kilo rice would also be prioritizing residents in the island barangays, according to Provincial Agriculturist Liza Quirog.
Speaking at the Kapihan sa PIA, Quirog said the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the National Food Authority (NFA) are currently coordinating for the soon to be implemented of the cheap rice which President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. promised.
“Governor Erico Aristotle Aumentado has sent an intention to the Department of Agriculture of Bohol’s eagerness to sell P20 kilo rice, for selected beneficiaries,” Quirog reported at the Kapihan sa PIA.
Prioritized for the cheap rice are senior citizens, persons with disabilities (PWD), solo parents, and then during our recent meeting with the NFA MANAGER Pilita Barajan and Provincial Administrator Aster Caberte, we tackled the governor’s instructions.
Quirog said, the governor wants “the cheap rice, when it comes to Bohol, to be first available to the island barangays which are non-rice growing islands, the beneficiaries being still the SC, PWDs, solo parents and those living below the poverty threshold.”
While majority of Bohol towns grow rice, growing the staple in the islands prove to be a challenge that right now, rice farming is only available in the mainland and some few patches in President Carlos P Garcia, according to the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist.
And when rice is not easily available in the island barangays here, the decision to allow the island residents to be in the cheap rice priority helps impoverished barangays who are most deprived of government services owing to their distance.
“We wait until our partner can be ready to implement the program here in Bohol,” Quirog said.
Before this, the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) in Region 7, has sold to selected Boholano sectors rice at P29 per kilo during the DA Kadiwa sa Pangulo agricultural fairs
“The NIA rice is also limited to 10 kilo bags for every qualified beneficiary,” according to NIA-7 Information Officer Zarline Sambas.
The NIA rice is sourced out from the agency’s Contract Farming Program, a key initiative aiming at boosting agricultural productivity and supporting farmers especially in NIA-administered irrigation systems.
The program aims to create a more predictable and secure environment for agricultural production by facilitating agreements between farmers and NIA.
The program provides financial assistance to farmers, including farm inputs like seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides, as well as cash for land preparation and harvesting, Sambas explained.
From the harvest, NIA directly buys palay from farmers, ensuring a reliable market and a guaranteed price, which also allows NIA to sell the rice at P29, but still only to vulnerable sectors. (RAHC/PIA_7/Bohol)
