EXPANDING the P20-per-kilogram (kg) rice program, implementing farm-to-market road (FMR) projects, and keeping palay (unmilled rice) prices fair are the main challenges for the Department of Agriculture this year, Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said in a recent statement.
The agency wants 15 million households or about 60 million individuals, to benefit from the P20/kg rice or the Benteng Bigas, Meron Na! (BBM Na!) program by yearend.
“We believe we are ready, but it is easier said than done,” Tiu Laurel said, noting the program — a campaign promise of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. — would need sufficient buffer stocks, efficient logistics, and coordination with local government units to avoid supply disruptions.
Marcos had ordered the program to be sustained until his term ends in 2028.
Starting this year, the DA will handle the construction of P33 billion worth of FMRs, taking over the scandal-ridden Department of Public Works and Highways.
“That’s a real challenge,” Tiu Laurel said, pointing out that FMR projects, which had been turned over to the DA a few months ago, will start upon the enactment of the 2026 General Appropriations Act.
Meetings are being held almost daily since there are over 60,000 kilometers of FMR backlog. “We want this done properly — transparent, corruption-free and built to the right standards of quality and durability,” Tiu Laurel added, saying the roads could be built at 20 percent less than the cost from previous years.
FMRs are crucial not just in improving market access but also for lowering transport costs, reducing post-harvest losses, and supporting government efforts in making food more affordable, increasing farmers’ income, and initiating rural development, Tiu Laurel reiterated.
Ensuring fair prices for palay is another urgent task, he said. In 2025, reports of palay farmgate prices dropping to as low as P8/kg in some regions caused deep concern to the government, leading Marcos to order a 60-day rice import freeze on September 1, which was extended till December.
The import moratorium lowered rice imports to 3.5 million metric tons in 2025, compared to its record high of 4.8 million metric tons in 2024.
The DA said it had consulted rice industry stakeholders on rationalizing import volumes to prevent a decline in palay farmgate prices.
Fair rice farmgate prices protect the livelihood of farmers and help achieve food security for the country, Tiu Laurel said, adding that the National Food Authority will buy fresh, wet palay from farmers at P17/kg, and clean, dry palay at P21/kg during harvest season.
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