House Speaker Martin Romualdez (Speaker’s office)

House Speaker Martin Romualdez has underscored the need to keep farmers happy with their earnings amid the National Food Authority's (NFA) plan to sell rice price at P35 per kilo.

“Ensuring that rice remains affordable is crucial for our consumers. However, we must also ensure that our farmers receive fair compensation for their hard work,” the leader of the 300-plus-strong House of Representatives said in a statement Wednesday morning, Feb. 12.

Romualdez--known as "Mr. Rice"--welcomed the NFA's initiative as this would undoubtedly benefit Filipinos.

But he said the government must also guarantee fair income for farmers in order to sustain local production of the staple grain.

“Ang ideal na sitwasyon ay mapanatili ang mataas na farm gate price na nagbibigay ng tamang kita para sa ating mga magsasaka habang sinisiguro na ang presyo ng bigas sa merkado ay abot-kaya para sa mga mamimili,” he said.

(The ideal situation is to maintain high farm gate price since this gives the correct compensation for our farmers while ensuring that the price of rice in the market remains affordable for consumers.)

Romualdez, Leyte's 1st district congressman, assured the public that Congress will monitor the implementation of this pricing strategy.

“We will closely observe how this policy unfolds and determine if additional government interventions are necessary to sustain it,” he noted.

He noted the potential role of subsidies and government support programs on the matter.

“Nakahanda ang Mababang Kapulungan na pag-aralan ang posibleng subsidiya o targeted assistance programs para matiyak na hindi malulugi ang ating mga magsasaka habang nananatiling abot-kaya ang bigas para sa publiko,” he said.

(The lower chamber is ready to study the potential subsidies or targeted assistance programs to ensure that our farmers won't be on the losing end of keeping rice affordable for the public.)

The Speaker also called for strong coordination between the DA (Department of Agriculture) and NFA with lawmakers to ensure that the policy does not negatively impact local rice farmers.

“I urge the [DA] and the [NFA] to work closely with Congress to ensure that this policy does not unintentionally discourage local rice production,” he said.

“The end goal is food security – one that benefits both farmers and consumers," Romualdez said.

“Alam natin na hindi madali ang pagsabayin ang interes ng mga magsasaka at mamimili, ngunit ito ay mahalaga para sa ating ekonomiya at seguridad sa pagkain,” he noted.

(We know that it's not easy to simultaneously consider the interests of farmers and consumers, but this is important for our economy and food security.)

He also pointed out the need to continuously assess the policy’s impact.