Gov’t rolls out ‘P29 per kilo’ rice program for low-income folk

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The Department of Agriculture (DA) is rolling out today a program that offers rice at only P29 per kilo in select Kadiwa stores in Metro Manila and neighboring Bulacan province.

But the rice will be sold not to the general public but to “vulnerable” segments of the population: senior citizens, single parents, persons with disabilities and beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), the government’s conditional cash transfer scheme for the poor.

For its trial run, “Program 29” will be conducted every Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the next six months, the DA said.

It will be simultaneously launched today at the Bureau of Animal Industry and National Irrigation Administration (NIA) in Quezon City; Bureau of Plant Industry in Manila; Food Terminal Inc. in Taguig City; Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority in Las Piñas; Kadiwa centers in Caloocan City and Valenzuela City; Barangay Fortune and BF City in Marikina City; and San Jose del Monte City in Bulacan.

Limit per household

The goal is to make discounted rice available to about 6.9 million low-income households, which account for about 35 million Filipinos, according to the DA.

Each beneficiary may buy only up to 10 kilos of rice per household per month, Agriculture Assistant Secretary Genevieve Velicaria-Guevarra said at a press briefing on Thursday.

A booklet will later be provided to the beneficiaries in August to monitor their purchases, she added. They are required to present their IDs and encouraged to bring reusable containers or bags for the rice.

‘Aging stocks’

Based on DA estimates, Program 29 will require about 69,000 metric tons of rice during the trial period.

The supply will be sourced from the “aging stocks” of the National Food Authority (NFA), the contract growing project of the NIA, and import shipments managed by DA-affiliated entities.

Aging NFA stocks refer to rice that had been in storage for three months, or palay (unhusked rice) stockpiles that had been kept for six months.

The DA hopes to use the trial period to gather comprehensive data on the supply and logistics needed for a nationwide implementation of Program 29, Velicaria-Guevarra added.