DA launches P20 rice pilot in Cebu and three other provinces

On Tuesday, the Department of Agriculture (DA) announced the arrival of 35,000 bags of well-milled National Food Authority (NFA) rice in Cebu province for a pilot test of the government's P20 per kilo rice initiative.

The NFA began unloading the shipment from its Mindoro warehouse on Monday and plans to complete the transfer by June, bringing 240,000 sacks from warehouses in Mindoro and Iloilo as part of the 'Benteng Bigas, Meron Na! (P20 rice, it's here!)' initiative.

Cebu is one of four provinces participating in this pilot program along with Bohol, Siquijor, and Southern Leyte, collectively ordering 673,000 bags to gather data until December.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has allocated P4.5 billion from his contingency fund for the pilot program, which was launched on May 1 but temporarily suspended due to election spending restrictions and resumed after the midterm polls.

The DA, through its Food Terminal Inc. (FTI), partners with local government units to equally subsidize the P13-per-kilo cost, bringing the retail price down to P20 per kilo for vulnerable groups at KADIWA centers starting May 15.