The Department of Agriculture (DA) has created a specialized office to strengthen coordination, monitoring, and implementation of rice development initiatives at both national and local levels.

The Interim Rice Industry Development Office or Rice Office shall initiate the programs under the National Rice Program and the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, according to Department Order No. 26.

“Whereas, despite the critical importance of Rice as recognized national staple, the industry faces challenges and setbacks such as high production costs, inadequate post-harvest facilities, and the need for climate-resilient farming practices,” the order read.

The department said the move will “ensure the focused management of the Philippine Rice sector and to enable the DA to carry out its objectives more efficiently, there is a need to establish an office dedicated solely to Rice industry development.”

The Rice Office will be led by the Undersecretary for Rice Industry Development who is yet to be named.

Among the functions of the newly-established office include integrating and overseeing all rice-related interventions.

It shall also formulate and recommend the approval of guidelines and monitoring for all rice industry programs and services across concerned government agencies, facilitating rice digitalization initiatives and management of a rice industry database.

The Agriculture Dept. earlier said the Philippines is not keen on imposing a ban on imported rice as the country prepares for the food supply impact of the strong El Niño later this year.

Despite the country’s rice imports surpassing 3 million metric tons, the agency said it will not let farm-gate prices of palay or unhusked rice for local farmers fall due to higher volume of rice imports.

Published Date: August 31, 2026