AGRI Party-list Rep. Wilbert T. Lee (Facebook)

AGRI Party-list Rep. Wilbert T. Lee believes that making rice production profitable for local farmers is key to achieving Philppine rice self-sufficiency. 

This was the main idea behind his proposal, dubbed the Rice Incentivization, Self-Sufficiency, and Enterprise (RISE) Program. 

Lee described the RISE program as a government subsidy program designed to encourage the estimated 2.6 million Filipino rice farmers to produce enough rice stocks. 

"Via the RISE Program, we believe there is a chance for the Philippine rice industry to rise again," said the neophyte congressman from Sorsogon. 

The objective is to make rice production profitable for farmers while ensuring that rice prices remain stable and affordable for the ordinary Filipino consumer. Rice is the country’s staple grain. 

"Sa subsidiyang ito ng gobyerno para masigurong maibebenta ng mga magsasaka ang bigas sa presyong hindi sila babaratin, ma-e-engganyo silang pataasin ang kanilang produksyon. Sa tulong nito, magkakaroon ng sapat na supply ang bansa at hindi tayo aasa lang sa importasyon," Lee said. 

(Rice farmers will be encouraged to increase their production if there's a government subsidy program that will assure them that their rice would be sold at fair prices. Through this, the country will have enough supply and we won't have to rely on importations.) 

He added that aside from buying rice from farmers at competitive prices, the RISE Program will mandate the government to sell the rice it acquires to consumers at affordable rates. 

"Bibilhin ng gobyerno ang bigas sa presyong sigurado ang kita ng mga magsasaka, at ibebenta sa consumers sa halagang mas abot-kaya. Mapapagaan na ang pasanin ng mga magsasaka at mamimili, makakatulong pa sa ating food security," stressed Lee. 

(The government will purchase rice at a price that would give farmers a sure profit, and the government will see it to consumers at affordable prices. This will ease the burden on both the farmers and consumers, and at the same time contribute to food security.) 

Data from the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) shows that in 2021, the country imported 2.9 million metric tons of rice; while in 2020, the country brought in 2.2 million metric tons of the staple grain. In 2019, the country imported a whopping 3.1 million metric tons of rice. 

Figures from PhilRice also reveal that the average rice import dependency ratio of the Philippines from 2001 to 2021 is 12 percent, with a low of 3 percent in 2013 and a high of 20 percent in 2019.