More Kadiwa stores to sell P29/kilo rice

MANILA, Philippines —  Rice at P29 per kilo will be available at more Kadiwa centers beginning this Friday with the official rollout of the “Bigas 29” program of the Department of Agriculture, according to a ranking DA official.

“We will announce on Thursday the improvement and evolution of this ‘Bigas 29.’ On Friday, we will visit select Kadiwa centers for this project,” DA Assistant Secretary and spokesman Arnel de Mesa said at a press conference yesterday.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. has announced that the National Food Authority Council, which he chairs, has approved the recommendation to sell aging but good NFA rice stocks at P29 per kilo through Kadiwa stores.

De Mesa, however, clarified that the P29-per-kilo rice sold at Kadiwa stores will not only come from the NFA inventory.

“The P29 will be for vulnerable sectors. We will announce on Thursday the program for the general public,” De Mesa added.

By vulnerable sectors, he meant persons with disabilities, solo parents, senior citizens and indigenous peoples, who collectively comprise 6.9 million households.

The agriculture official noted that the P29 per kilo rice was initially available in three Kadiwa outlets.

“There will be improvement from the present, but I cannot disclose yet the additional number of Kadiwa (stores),” he said.

He added that the P29 per kilo rice would be available not only in Metro Manila, but also in other areas nationwide.

Aside from rice, other agricultural products will be available at Kadiwa centers, according to De Mesa.

“It will include agri fisheries, more improved Kadiwa,” he said after a majority of the Kadiwa centers became inactive for more than a year.

Tiu Laurel has said that each beneficiary household of the P29 per kilo rice is entitled to purchase 10 kilos per month, requiring rice supply of 69,000 metric tons every month.

The implementation of the P29 per kilo rice will cost the government between P1.39 billion and P1.53 billion per month, according to the agriculture chief.

He said that to secure rice supply for the initiative, the DA plans to import 363,697 metric tons of rice to augment national buffer stocks, while the NFA will procure 559,535