The Department of Agriculture (DA) is scheduled to sell P20 kilos of rice on August 13, 2025, in line with the directive of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
Despite the criticism saying that the program was just temporary and failed to address the deeper root cause of the sector’s problems, the DA will still push through for the expansion of the program to small-scale rice farmers, including the minimum wage earners, that are registered under the DA’s Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) to purchase up to 10 kilos of P20 rice per month.
The program will be launched in Regions 2 and 3. An estimated 2.9 million farmers are currently registered under the RSBSA, with which they have the option to purchase their monthly allocation in bulk. The farmers are also allowed to participate in selling in this initiative.
Aside from farmers, fishermen will be included in the subsidized rice program. There are 2.8 million fishermen registered with the RSBSA.
According to Agriculture Secretary Francisco "Kiko" Tiu Laurel Jr., subsidized rice is mainly sold at the Katuwang sa Diwa at Gawa para sa Masaganang Ani at Mataas na Kita (KADIWA) centers, and some participating government agencies and local government units. The rice is sourced from the Food Terminal Inc. (FTI) from the National Food Authority (NFA), which is mandated by law to establish a reserve of rice purchased from local farmers.
President Marcos has already approved a P18 billion budget for the rice program for 2026, which would supplement the added allocation of P9 billion budget for palay (unhusked rice) procurement of the NFA.
However, Senator Imelda “Imee” Marcos said that the program will be difficult to maintain as a considerable amount will have to be allotted for subsidizing farmers, and to “sustain the program, the government must strike a balance between lowering rice prices for consumers and keeping the sale of palay profitable”.
Moreover, the sudden drop in rice prices despite a record high harvest has prompted President Marcos to consider suspending rice imports and immediately raising the tariff to 25% as millions of metric tons of imported rice are entering the country.
It was previously reported that the 60-day suspension of rice imports for well-milled and regular milled rice will begin on September 1.
