OPA asked help rice technicians to account rice retailers among others

The Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) in the Provincial Government of Bohol (PGBh) asked the rice
technicians to help with the inventory of all the rice retailers, millers and warehouses in the province of Bohol.
This developed after it was found out during the rice technicians’ meeting last Tuesday, CPG Hall, 2 nd  Floor,
New Capitol Building that the Department of Agriculture (DA), and the National Food Authority (NFA) do not have
any list of accredited rice retailers, warehouses and millers in Bohol which are essentials for monitoring the prices
and updating the supplies of rice.

Joel Lim from the NFA said that since 2019 when the Rice Tariffication Law was implemented in the country,
the NFA has not given the authority to account, monitor, and update the accredited rice retailers, millers and
warehouses but instead, they are only given the task to do the palay procurement program for buffer stocking for
calamities, emergency situations and feeding programs.

Lim disclosed that their palay procurement program with the support price of P19/kilo could not entice rice
farmers to sell their palay to NFA and they preferred to sell it to the local traders which have higher support prices
that range from P25 to P26 or even P30/kilo.

However, he said they have now closely coordinated with some Municipal Local Government Units (MLGUs)
like Ubay, Mabini and Calape who have provided subsidy in the amount of P2/kilo as an add-on price from their
support price of P19/kilo of palay.

It was learned during the rice technicians’ meeting that most rice retailers in the province do not reduce the
prices of their regular milled rice to P41/kilo and well-milled rice to P45/kilo in compliance with the Executive
Order No. 39 by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. effective August 31, 2023.

Under Section 1 of the E.O. 39, the mandated price ceilings are regular milled rice is priced at P41.00 per
kilogram, and well-milled (P45.00/kilogram) and as such the implementation shall remain in full force and effect
unless earlier lifted by the president upon the recommendation of the Price Coordinating Council or the DA and the
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

Meanwhile, Domingo Salces, Federated President, the National Irrigation System/Communal Irrigation System
(NIS/CIS) said Executive Order No. 39 issued by the president would greatly affect their palay selling price.
Salces said before the implementation of the order, the local traders would buy their palay at prices ranging from
P26 to P30/kilogram which was beneficial to the rice farmers because it increased their income. But starting August
31, 2023, which was the effectivity of the order, the price would drastically change to only P21/kilogram.

The federated president of more than 200 irrigators associations in Bohol said that he sees a good harvest this
season as shown by the standing crop and based on the yield of the 5% among all Boholano rice farmers who
harvested their planted rice.

On this development, there is no reason for panic buying because aside from the old stock, there will be an
incoming big volume of rice supply from our Boholano farmers.

Provincial Agriculturist Liza M. Quirog during the rice technicians’ meeting said that the government has no
letting up to help the farmers.

Quirog said the PBGh under the administration of Gov. Erico Aristotle C. Aumentado and Vice-Governor
Dionisio Victor Balite and DA have continued its program of giving free seeds and fertilizers as the government has
acknowledged the sweat and toils from our more than 60, 000 Boholano farmers with an average age of 57 years old
who have tilled the 184, 874 hectares (has.) of agricultural areas in the province with an average farm size of .05 ha.
who feed the 1.4 million Boholano and 1.5 tourist population annually. By Atoy Cosap