Author: DA Press Office

Eighteen warehouse of the National Food Authority (NFA) across Central and Northern Luzon opened their gates Wednesday, welcoming rice farmers and farm workers seeking access to the P20 ‘Benteng Bigas, Meron Na!’ Rice Project—President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s flagship initiative to make rice more affordable for those who grow it.

Eligible rice farmers—those tilling two hectares or less—and registered farm workers under the Department of Agriculture’s Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) can now buy rice at just P20 per kilo, up to 10 kilos monthly or a full 50-kilo sack to cover their allocation from August to December 2025.

“Based on RSBSA data, around five million rice farmers and workers will qualify once this program is fully rolled out,” said Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. “This is one of the many steps we are taking to ease the burden of those who feed our nation and help secure our food supply.”

To support the rollout, KADIWA ng Pangulo and Food Terminal Inc. booths will be set up in NFA warehouses to distribute P20-per-kilo rice, sourced from palay purchased by the NFA directly from Filipino farmers.

Secretary Tiu Laurel also confirmed that the program will soon expand to include 2.8 million RSBSA-registered fisherfolk, as well as to other parts of the country.

Previously limited to senior citizens, solo parents, PWDs, 4Ps beneficiaries, and later minimum wage earners, the subsidized rice initiative is now set to expand its sectoral coverage.

President Marcos has ordered the Department of Agriculture to scale up the program to reach around 15 million households—or roughly 60 million Filipinos—by 2026, aiming to sustain it through the end of his term in June 2028.

The president has approved an P18 billion budget for the 2026 rollout, on top of a proposed P9 billion NFA palay procurement budget for 2025. (DA Photo)

Published Date: August 13, 2025