The Department of Agriculture (DA) is expanding the pilot run of a program that sells rice at P29 per kilogram to 10 more Kadiwa centers in Metro Manila and Bulacan starting today.
The DA said the 10 participating Kadiwa sites where the large-scale trial of the program include the offices of the Bureau of Animal Industry and National Irrigation Administration in Quezon City; Bureau of Plant Industry in Manila; Food Terminal Inc. in Taguig City; Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority in Las Pinas; Caloocan City; Valenzuela City; barangays Fortune and BF City in Marikina City; and San Jose del Monte City in Bulacan.
DA plans that by August, the 10 initial participating Kadiwa centers will double to 20 which will enhance accessibility of the affordable rice to economically disadvantaged groups in Metro Manila.
Prior to the large-scale trial of the program, the DA has made available the P29 per kg rice in three Kadiwa centers in recent weeks.
After the large-scale trial, DA plans to expand the P29 per kg rice program to major urban centers nationwide with the support of local government units.
DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel said the agency is also planning to sell in Kadiwa centers rice meant for the general public that are priced lower compared to market in a program tentatively called Rice-for-All.
For the P29 rice, the DA is initially running the program every Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The DA estimates that full implementation of the program will require approximately 69,000 metric tons of rice to provide 10 kg of rice per month at P29 per kg. and will cater to as many as 6.9 million vulnerable households, representing around 35 million Filipinos.
Rice supplies will come from various sources, including the National Food Authority, the National Irrigation Administration’s rice contract growing project and potential imports managed by DA-affiliated entities.
The agency said the large-scale trial will also gather comprehensive data on supply, demand and logistics which is essential for the smooth nationwide rollout of the program.
During this period, Kadiwa will also prepare booklets to monitor rice purchases of beneficiaries which include senior citizens, single parents, persons with disabilities and beneficiaries of the government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino program.
Tiu Laurel noted the importance of preventing abuse of the program by beneficiaries reselling subsidized rice .
“We appeal to beneficiaries not to take advantage of this program by reselling the P29 rice from Kadiwa centers. We want to ensure that the largest number of those in the vulnerable sectors will benefit from this program…,” said Tiu Laurel, in a statement.
Genevieve Velicaria-Guevarra, DA assistant secretary for consumer and legislative affairs, urged consumers qualified to participate in the P29 per kg rice program to bring identification cards and reusable containers or bags to minimize plastic usage.
Guevarra said apart from lower-priced rice at designated centers, consumers can also buy more affordable essential items such as eggs, meat and vegetables in Kadiwa centers.
At present, there are 265 established Kadiwa centers along with 119 pop-up stores operating on scheduled rotations to cater to consumer needs.
