P20 per kilo of rice not within reach soon—Agri exec
Published Aug 1, 2023 06:18 am
The promise to bring down the price of rice to P20 per kilo is not within reach soon, given the several issues affecting the agriculture sector.
This was admitted by Department of Agriculture (DA) Undersecretary Mercedita Sombilla in a Palace briefing on Tuesday, Aug. 1, noting that it will not be possible in the short run.
Sombilla explained that it will not be easy to achieve the P20 per kilo of rice amid current challenges such as fertilizer cost, fuel cost, the ongoing El Niño, and the back-to-back typhoons that hit the country this week.
"[M]edyo mahirap kong sagutin iyan kasi kung… as of now, parang hindi pa natin iyan maa-achieve (It is difficult to answer that...as of now, it looks like we cannot achieve that yet)," the Undersecretary said.
She, however, said that it can be attainable "in the long run" once the production of rice in the country improves.
"But you know, in the long run, kapag talagang gumanda ang ating productivity (if our productivity improves) – and that is what DA is really aiming for ‘no, the government is aiming for. But posible iyan na bababa pero sa mga nangyayari ngayon – fertilizer cost, fuel cost tapos itong mga El Niño, back-to-back typhoons natin… hindi natin makikita iyan in the short run (But it's possible to bring the price down but due to the situation now – fertilizer cost, fuel cost, the El Niño, and back-to-back typhoon...we are not seeing that in the short run)," the DA official said.
"But you know, over the long run, if we are able to… you know, increase our productivity, I think you know it’s achieve—we can achieve that," she added.
President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., who also heads the DA in a concurrent capacity, made the promise for a P20 per kilo of rice under his administration, which he pitched during his presidential bid in 2022.
In November last year as he launched the nationwide Kadiwa sa Pasko caravan, he declared that [the government is nearing its goal](https://mb.com.ph/2022/11/16/were-nearing-goal-of-rice-at-p20-per-kilo-marcos/) to bring down the price of rice in the country to P20.
However, in February this year, he backtracked saying, [it will take a long time for this to come to fruition](https://mb.com.ph/2022/09/13/marcos-on-p20-per-kilo-rice-its-a-long-road-there-its-not-going-to-be-easy/).
“It’s a long road there, it's not going to be easy,” he then said.
This was admitted by Department of Agriculture (DA) Undersecretary Mercedita Sombilla in a Palace briefing on Tuesday, Aug. 1, noting that it will not be possible in the short run.
Sombilla explained that it will not be easy to achieve the P20 per kilo of rice amid current challenges such as fertilizer cost, fuel cost, the ongoing El Niño, and the back-to-back typhoons that hit the country this week.
"[M]edyo mahirap kong sagutin iyan kasi kung… as of now, parang hindi pa natin iyan maa-achieve (It is difficult to answer that...as of now, it looks like we cannot achieve that yet)," the Undersecretary said.
She, however, said that it can be attainable "in the long run" once the production of rice in the country improves.
"But you know, in the long run, kapag talagang gumanda ang ating productivity (if our productivity improves) – and that is what DA is really aiming for ‘no, the government is aiming for. But posible iyan na bababa pero sa mga nangyayari ngayon – fertilizer cost, fuel cost tapos itong mga El Niño, back-to-back typhoons natin… hindi natin makikita iyan in the short run (But it's possible to bring the price down but due to the situation now – fertilizer cost, fuel cost, the El Niño, and back-to-back typhoon...we are not seeing that in the short run)," the DA official said.
"But you know, over the long run, if we are able to… you know, increase our productivity, I think you know it’s achieve—we can achieve that," she added.
President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., who also heads the DA in a concurrent capacity, made the promise for a P20 per kilo of rice under his administration, which he pitched during his presidential bid in 2022.
In November last year as he launched the nationwide Kadiwa sa Pasko caravan, he declared that [the government is nearing its goal](https://mb.com.ph/2022/11/16/were-nearing-goal-of-rice-at-p20-per-kilo-marcos/) to bring down the price of rice in the country to P20.
However, in February this year, he backtracked saying, [it will take a long time for this to come to fruition](https://mb.com.ph/2022/09/13/marcos-on-p20-per-kilo-rice-its-a-long-road-there-its-not-going-to-be-easy/).
“It’s a long road there, it's not going to be easy,” he then said.