A farmers’ group has warned the Department of Agriculture (DA) against rushing its rice price reduction plan, stressing that it must not come at the cost of farmers’ livelihoods.
The DA is reportedly set to declare a national food security emergency in rice on Feb. 4, which would allow the National Food Authority (NFA) to release its rice stocks—around 300,000 metric tons or six million bags—through local government units (LGUs) and Kadiwa outlets at below-market prices.
In a statement on Sunday, Feb. 2, the Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) estimated that if the NFA proceeds with its plan to release 30,000 metric tons of rice per month, it could supply nearly 25 percent of the Metro Manila rice market.
“If NFA rice is sold at P38 per kilo, traders—to remain competitive—will have to buy dry palay from farmers at P19 per kilo. At this price, most rice farmers will either break even or have very little left after paying debts and other expenses,” Raul Montemayor, the national manager of FFF, said.
While the move may help decongest NFA warehouses to accommodate the upcoming harvest, Montemayor noted that the agency’s P9 billion procurement fund for 2025 can only absorb four percent of palay (unmilled rice) output in the first half of the year.
“Additionally, few farmers actually manage to sell their palay to NFA, because they lack access to dryers and post-harvest facilities needed to comply with the agency’s strict grain quality standards,” he added.
The farmers’ group has also called on the agriculture department to clarify its basis for declaring a food security emergency.
Under Republic Act (RA) No. 12078, which amended the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL), the National Price Coordinating Council (NPCC) must first recommend such a declaration based on an official formula that determines an “extraordinary increase in rice prices.” The DA Secretary can then use this formula as grounds for declaring an emergency, FFF stated.
However, citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the FFF noted that well-milled rice (WMR) prices peaked at P56.44 per kilo in March 2024 but have since declined, averaging P54.38 per kilo in December 2024. Regular milled rice (RMR) followed a similar trend.
“How can you declare an emergency now, when prices are already dropping and the extraordinary increase in prices actually occurred a year ago? How will you know when it is time to lift the emergency declaration?” Montemayor asked.
Call for action vs profiteers
The FFF also questioned why the DA and other government agencies were not taking action against importers, wholesalers, and traders allegedly profiting from high rice prices, despite the reduction in import costs following the 20 percent cut in rice tariffs in July 2024.
As such, the group urged Congress to address inconsistencies in the newly enacted Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Law and the amended RTL.
The FFF pointed out that the DA’s reported plan to allow supermarkets to sell NFA rice might violate legal restrictions, which state that government rice stocks can only be sold at negotiated prices to national agencies, LGUs, and Kadiwa outlets during emergencies. Private entities may only purchase NFA stocks if they are aging and exclusively through an auction.
Earlier, the DA announced its plan to distribute Kadiwa rice in major supermarkets and convenience stores nationwide, aiming to make affordable rice more accessible to consumers.