By JAMIL SANTOS, VINCE ANGELO FERRERAS, GMA Integrated News

In his 2024 State of the Nation Address, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. highlighted the hardships confronting the Filipinos due to the rising prices of food.

“The hard lesson of this last year has made it very clear that whatever current data proudly bannering our country as among the best-performing in Asia, means nothing to a Filipino, who is confronted by the price of rice at 45 to 65 pesos per kilo,” Marcos had said in his report to the nation last year.

Back then, the price of rice per kilo was far from the P20 per kilo he had promised the Filipinos when he campaigned for the presidency in 2022.

But the efforts of Marcos, who sat as Agriculture secretary from July 2022 to November 2023, could not be ignored to achieve his P20 per kilo rice goal.

The government, through the Department of Agriculture (DA), has been consistently opening Kadiwa stores that sell rice at P20 per kilo.

Marcos also vowed to prioritize enhancing local production to address the high food cost and build the necessary infrastructure to prop up agricultural productivity and assist farmers.

He had said in his SONA that a total of 1,200 kilometers of farm-to-market roads all over the country will be completed.

Further, Marcos said over 9,300 farm equipment would be distributed and more than 80,000 hectares of land would be irrigated.

The projects remain in the works. In his visit to Balingasag, Misamis Oriental in April 2025, Marcos reported that in Region X (Northern Mindanao), the government was able to construct almost 70 kilometers of farm-to-market roads.

“Sa buong bansa, umabot na sa 1,162 kilometro ang naitayo nating mga daan, at higit 865 linyang-metro naman ng tulay,” he said.

Since his presidency, Marcos said 36,000 pieces of machinery and agricultural equipment had been distributed to farmers’ cooperatives and associations for post-harvest. While under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, 12,000 pieces of machinery and equipment had been provided from July 2022 up to March 2025.

A month before Marcos’ fourth State of the Nation Address, the Economy and Development (ED) Council, formerly known as the NEDA (National Economic and Development Authority) Board, approved the P27.7-billion Farm-to-Market Bridges Development Program of the Department of Agriculture. 

Under the program, the DA said it aims for the construction of 300 climate-resilient modular steel bridges across 52 provinces in 15 regions.

“By improving physical connectivity in farming and fishing communities, the Farm-to-Market Bridges Development Program addresses persistent infrastructure gaps that limit market access, increase post-harvest losses, and hinder rural productivity,” said ED Council vice chairperson and Economics Secretary Arsenio Balisacan.

“It also aims to uplift rural incomes and improve food logistics, particularly in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas,” Balisacan added.

The Agriculture Department also reported that it had completed over 450 agri-infrastructure projects, including farm-to-market roads, fish ports, and food storage facilities. Further, agriculture insurance now protects more than 1.3 million farmers, livestock raisers, and fishers.

“Through the Masagana Rice Industry Development Program, aligned yields have improved from 3.3 to 4.2 metric pounds per hectare, with the first quarter yields again at 4.09 metric pounds. We are also expanding value-chain innovation,” said DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel in a speech, as delivered by Agriculture Director Karen Roscom in a summit in Manila.

Benefits

A number of farmers expressed relief with the administration’s efforts, saying that farm-to-market roads are a long-awaited solution.

“Mahalaga para sana may madaanan kami at mayroon kaming mapagbiladan ng palay namin,” said Robert Lopez, a rice farmer in Mangaldan, Pangasinan, in a report by GMA Regional TV.

(It is vital so that we can have paved roads for our goods and an area for drying palay.)

Approved by the DA, the local government in Mangaldan and the barangay, a farm-to-market road is set to connect Barangays Guilig, Malabago, and Bari. Initial groundwork, such as soil filling, has already begun.

Guilig Councilman Louie Prestoza said the project, which is estimated to reach P3 million, will make it more convenient for farmers to transport their goods and will serve as an alternate route for public and private vehicles in the area.

“Hindi lang kami dito ang mabebenepisyuhan. Marami, kahit na taga-ibang lugar,” Prestoza said.

(It is not just us here who will benefit. Many more residents, even from other places.)

P20 per kilo of rice

Marcos’ campaign promise of P20 per kilo of rice has been initially implemented in the Visayas region, and is set to be rolled out across the country in the coming months.

The second phase of the program commenced this July in the Mindanao region. 

Marcos said it took time for him to fulfill his promise because the government needs to assist the local farmers first, including the provision of machinery. 

The P20 per kilo rice initiative under the Kadiwa ng Pangulo program only allows members of vulnerable sectors—including indigents, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and solo parents to buy NFA rice at P20 per kilogram. Moreover, it can also be availed by minimum wage earners.

Marcos expressed confidence that his administration could sustain its implementation.

Increasing prices of goods

With the price of some goods increasing, Marcos said the government is also monitoring “price gouging” in the consumer market.

“Iyon lamang binabantayan natin ngayon ‘yung price gouging. Dahil ang dami ko nang nakita nagtataas ng presyo, hindi naman tumaas ang presyo ng langis. So, iyon ang babantayan natin ngayon. That’s what we are going to watch,” he said.

(We’re monitoring the price gouging. Because I’ve seen a lot of price hikes even though fuel prices have not increased. So that’s what we will monitor right now. That’s what we are going to watch.)

Farmers 

However, the progressive group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) said that farmers and fisherfolk remain waiting for the fulfilment of the President’s SONA promises.

KMP chairperson Danilo Ramos lamented that majority of the Filipino farmers do not own the land they till, and continue to lose it due to land conversion.

He also said the people in other areas of the country await the affordable rice promised by Marcos.

Ramos said they also continue to long for the day when the country would be rice self-sufficient and would no longer need to buy imported rice.—LDF/RSJ, GMA Integrated News

Published Date: July 25, 2025