Extended News

BACOLOD CITY – The provincial government of Negros Occidental will continue working directly with the Federation of Irrigators’ Association of Central Negros-Bago River Irrigation System (FIACN-BRIS)  in implementing the P20 per kilo rice program of the national government in the province.

Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson announced on Monday, June 9, that the provincial government will begin implementing the rice program this week, starting with an initial distribution of 50 sacks in the town of Pulupandan.

“We’re no longer waiting for the National Food Authority (NFA), as we haven’t received word from them yet regarding available stocks,” Lacson said, adding that the NFA prioritizes this highly-urbanized city for the rollout.

Instead, the province will tap the FIACN-BRIS, a group of local farmers previously selling rice at P25 per kilo.

The province and FIACN-BRIS have an existing partnership offering rice at P25 per kilo at the Food Terminal Market of Occidental Negros (FTMON) here.

“This is a continuing program,” Lacson said. “We’re continuing what we’ve started but now at P20 per kilo,” he added.

Lacson said they will start in Pulupandan and visit other local government units (LGUs). “We won’t focus on just one area, this will be a rolling store setup,” he added.

The provincial government has set aside more than P3 million to subsidize operations, enabling farmers to sell at a cheaper price.

The subsidy covers part of the labor and operational costs and may also extend to fertilizers.

“This initiative is direct with the farmers’ group, not through the NFA,” he said, adding that although LGUs can participate, they must go through the NFA if they want to access subsidized rice under the agency’s program, which offers a P6.50 subsidy per kilo.

He revealed that should the NFA join, the province has an additional P7 million in funds earmarked for the effort.

The program is expected to continue throughout the month, with hopes of expanding during harvest season to increase the volume of available rice.

“This is a provincial initiative,” the governor said.

This city has already started the rollout of the rice program last week, initially allocating P8 million to purchase 5,880 bags of NFA rice from the province’s rice-producing areas.

Source : mb