SAN JOSE, Occidental Mindoro (PIA) — The contracted area for the Farm Support Service Program of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) in Occidental Mindoro will expand nine-fold in 2025, paving the way for affordable rice for Mindoreños.
According to Edwin Arevallo of NIA Occidental Mindoro, the expansion is in line with the directive of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. to provide affordable rice to the vulnerable sectors.
“Ito ay alinsunod sa kagustuhan ng ating Pangulong BBM na makapabigay po tayo o makapagbenta ng murang bigas, especially nga po doon sa mga mahihirap na kababayan,” Arevallo said.
He added that there will be new guidelines for the program in 2025, and contracted farmers will undergo reorientation once a Memorandum Circular is released.
For 2025, NIA will contract 500 hectares for the program, almost nine times bigger than in 2024, with an allocated P62.5 million budget per cropping season.
Arevallo explained that the program’s mechanism enables the government to sell high-quality rice for only P29 a kilo, which is almost 50 percent cheaper than commercial rice.
“Lahat kasi ng inputs na gagamitin ng ating mga magsasaka provided lahat ito ng NIA…the total cost is P125,000 [per hectare]. P50,000 for the inputs and labor, P50,000…as part of compensation na rin sa kanila (farmers), and another P25,000 is the cost of postharvest from hauling drying milling drying repacking and ‘yung selling,” he explained.
In 2024, the program covered 57 hectares, with 41 farmer cooperators in Occidental Mindoro.
In the same year, NIA was able to sell around 6,000 bags of 10-kg sacks of Bagong Bayaning Magsasaka or BBM rice, equivalent to 60,000 kilograms, at P29 a kilo to elderlies, persons with disabilities, members of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) and solo parents through the Kadiwa Outlets.
The Farm Support Service Program of the NIA will continue until 2028, said Arevallo. (DSG/PIA MIMAROPA – Occidental Mindoro)
