SAN ILDEFONSO — Rice farmers from Central Luzon on Wednesday hailed the reopening of National Food Authority (NFA) warehouses in Bulacan and the aggressive palay procurement drive ordered by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., more popularly known as PBBM, calling the intervention a lifeline that has boosted their confidence to keep planting.
During a visit to the NFA warehouse in this town, President Marcos joined farmers in an informal huddle and announced that the government is considering a floor price for palay, similar to what is practiced in the tobacco industry in the Ilocos Region.
“Pinag-aaralan namin na magkaroon ng floor price (sa palay) para wala naman malugi,” said the President in Filipino. “Kapag kasi masyado malikot ang presyo, hindi makapag-plano ng maayos.”
He emphasized that the government wants farmers to earn enough to sustain their planting intentions, especially with stronger support from the Department of Agriculture.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. also directed NFA Administrator Larry Lacson to accelerate milling to decongest warehouses and boost supply for the President’s expanded P20 rice program. “Just yesterday (May 27), I met with Labor Secretary (Bienvenido) Laguesma and we are finalizing plans to expand the P20 rice program to minimum wage earners by 2026,” he added.
The DA chief said the current rice situation has highlighted the need to restore certain powers of the NFA taken away by the Rice Tariffication Law, particularly that which allows it to sell rice directly to the public to stabilize prices.
“The current discussion with the President centers on restoring the regulatory power and rice retailing of the NFA,” said Secretary Tiu Laurel. He said a study is also underway on how to empower the NFA to set a floor price for palay, a power given to the National Grains Authority, the predecessor of the NFA, under Presidential Decree 1485.
PD 1485 allowed the NGA to set a floor price for grains, particularly rice and corn, to assure the farmer or producer a fair return on his investment.”
Rico Buco, chairman of the Vizal San Pablo Farmers Multipurpose Cooperative, expressed his gratitude to the DA and NFA for resuming palay procurement at fair prices. His group, with about 400 members from Pampanga, currently holds 9,000 bags of palay bought at P16.50–P17 per kilo and dried at additional cost.
“Ang presyo po sa Bocaue (rice center) ang pinaka-mataas sa tuyo ay P21 kada kilo,” said Buco, who is from Candaba. “Kung dadalhin namin sa Bocaue, baka malugi pa yung aming kooperatiba. Pasalamat nga po kami sa Presidente at muling nagbukas ang NFA.”
Currently, the NFA buys dried palay at P24 per kilo and freshly harvested palay at P19—well above the P11-P13 per kilo price offered by some private traders.
“Kung hindi po nagbukas si NFA, siguro po hanggang ngayon nagsa-suffer pa rin ang mga magsasaka sa P11–P12 kada kilo na presyo,” said Lilian Galang of the New Basset Multipurpose Cooperative in San Ildefonso. She noted that since NFA resumed buying, traders have increased their offers to P15–P16.50 per kilo.
Alex Briones, a farmer from San Miguel, Bulacan, said many in his group were on the verge of abandoning planting due to losses. “Natutuwa po ako, maganda na po ang presyo,” he said. “Nito pong muling meeting namin, nasisiraan na po kami ng loob… Pero ngayon po, nagpapasalamat ako sa administration na pwede na kaming magpasok ng palay.”
The current pilot of the P20 rice program, which runs through December, will cover up to 3.3 million households—or about 14 million Filipinos—with subsidized rice sourced from NFA stocks.
NFA Administrator Lacson said that additional palay stocks are being taken out of the San Ildefonso warehouse, which has a capacity of around 116,000 50-kilo bags, to be milled for the P20 rice program as well as to make space for the palay being brought by farmers from Bulacan and nearby towns of Pampanga. “We are now doubling, even tripling, our efforts to repair 134 warehouses in preparation for more aggressive palay procurement during the next harvest season,” he said.
For Digna Caliwag of the San Miguel Sinagtala Cooperative, the continued buying of palay by NFA is crucial. “Basta patuloy lang pagbili ng NFA ng palay para huwag kami baratin ng traders. Promise nyo po, huwag nyo na bababaan, para sipagin ang mga farmers,” said Caliwag, who tills less than a hectare.
Pedro Alpon, who manages about 10 hectares of leased land in San Miguel, said the higher prices have given them hope. “Malaking tulong po ang ginawa nyo sa amin sa pagbili ng palay sa magandang halaga,” Alpon said. “Sana po, Mr. President, ipagpatuloy nyo ang inyong magandang hangarin sa aming mga magsasaka para lahat ng pangarap namin—makapag-paaral ng anak at gumanda ang buhay—ay matupad.”
Buco added that giving farmers a fair income could also inspire younger generations to stay in agriculture. “Yun nga po ang ikinababahala natin—baka ang susunod na henerasyon ay ma-divert sa ibang trabaho. Pero kung makikita nila na ang pagsasaka ay may kinikita, marami pa rin po ang magpapatuloy,” he said.
