By TED CORDERO, GMA News

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. on Thursday announced two major steps on to help farmers earn more.

In a statement, Tiu Laurel said he directed the National Food Authority (NFA) to raise its minimum buying price for palay beginning the upcoming harvest season in September.

“I’ve ordered the NFA to set the minimum buying price for wet palay at P21 per kilo [from P17] to help address the higher cost of fertilizer and other inputs,” said Tiu Laurel, who also chairs the NFA Council.

The Agriculture chief also ordered a temporary halt to the entry of rice imports in Iloilo from mid-September until the end of November to prevent imports from arriving during the peak harvest.

“That is what I can do to ensure that you would earn a decent return from your hard work,” he said.

Iloilo is highly important to the country’s supply, producing half of Western Visayas’ rice and over 5% of the national output.

The Agriculture chief inaugurated P355-million rice processing facility in Dumangas, Iloilo which can process up to 4,800 bags of 50-kilo palay every day.

It uses mechanical dryers so the NFA can buy freshly harvested wet palay at better prices.

Additionally, its large storage capacity allows the NFA to hold up to 12% of Iloilo’s expected harvest, which will help keep market prices stable.

Tiu Laurel said that two more large facilities in Iloilo will open by the October harvest.

Across the country, the DA chief said the NFA is building 36 modern facilities to cut crop losses, increase farmer incomes, and protect food security.

Half of these will open during this wet season, and the rest will open before next year’s dry-season harvest.

“These are part of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s vision of a modernized agricultural sector, where farmers earn a decent living, consumers enjoy affordable food, and the Philippines achieves lasting food security,” Tiu Laurel said. — RSJ, GMA News

Published Date: July 16, 2026