The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) on Wedensday said it is still possible to reach P20 per kilo of rice under the Marcos administration.

However, for the country to achieve the goal, NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said there is still a need to boost rice production in the country which cannot happen overnight.

"You need investment, you need the private sector to invest in logistics, to invest in post-harvest facilities, we need government to build more irrigation systems, durable and resilient irrigation systems, we need to develop varieties that are resilient to climate change, to floods. You know, those cannot happen overnight," said Balisacan in a press briefing in Malacañang.

The statement was made after Department of Agriculture (DA) officials admitted to lawmakers that the targeted P20 per kilogram of rice is difficult to attain.

The NEDA Secretary specifically cited the countries of Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam as examples of high rice production and low rice prices.

Balisacan said that the government should have done something to help the farmers so that the Philippines does not fall behind.

Although the government is now taxing the resources and time for agriculture to increase production, he said it is still not possible to say that the desired P20 kilo of rice will be achieved.

"I can’t say that, ‘Oh, by next … we should be able to…,’ that’s asking for the moon, you know… That’s not going to happen because as I said, there’s so much catch-up thing to do, so much constraints that we are now addressing," the NEDA Chief said.

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. earlier assured the public that rice prices will stabilize as harvest in big palay-producing areas has begun.

"[M]ayroon naman tayong balita na nagsimula na ang pag-aani sa Nueva Ecija, sa Isabela, at saka sa North Cotabato. Kaya’t ito’y magdadagdag sa supply natin," the President, who also is the current Agriculture Secretary, said.

The current standard price of rice in the country is P56 per kilo.