The Department of Agriculture (DA) is urging rice farmers to continue planting this wet season, assuring production remains viable and profitable despite threats from severe El Niño and rising input costs driven by global oil market shifts. Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. noted President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has directed the agency to guarantee farmers earn fair returns and avoid losses amid higher fertilizer and fuel prices.
To provide income certainty, the National Food Authority (NFA) will announce buying rates early: P22 per kilogram for wet palay and P27 per kilogram for dry palay, intended as a market benchmark to secure reasonable profits. NFA Administrator Larry Lacson said the agency will be more proactive this season, buying earlier and at better rates compared to the dry season, when it only matched existing private trader offers. During the recently concluded dry harvest, NFA purchased dry palay at P25 to P30 per kilogram.
Preparations are underway for the September harvest: NFA is milling part of its buffer stock and rearranging inventories to free warehouse space, ensuring capacity to accept new produce while supporting the government’s P20 per kilogram rice program.
Over the weekend, Tiu Laurel led the traditional planting kickoff in Nueva Ecija, the country’s top rice-producing province, where he listened to requests for better farm-to-market roads, post-harvest facilities, machinery, irrigation, and regulatory adjustments. He also shared technologies observed during the recent state visit to Japan—including rice wine production and long-term storage methods for dehusked rice—to help diversify incomes. Looking ahead, the DA will expand support for high-value crops such as bell peppers, tomatoes, and ube starting the second half of the year, tapping stronger market demand and higher profit margins.
This policy and operational push aims to protect food security, stabilize farm incomes amid climate and cost pressures, and modernize the rice sector while opening new revenue streams for growers.
