PBBM: PH to have close to 100% rice sufficiency

By Vince Lopez

THE government is seeking close to 100% rice self-sufficiency in five years following President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s approval of the Masagana Rice Industry Development Program (MRIDP).

The President, who concurrently heads the Department of Agriculture (DA), disclosed the government target during a Rice Industry Convergence Meeting in Quezon City on Wednesday.

“This convergence meeting, I think, has given us a good roadmap to follow, but marami pang mangyayari d’yan between now and our goal of having a 97.5-percent self-sufficiency in rice,” Marcos said.

Mr. Marcos said the government does not have “to be 100%” and that 97.5% is “a good enough number.”

The President explained the remaining 2.5% is for the other necessary niche products. He also encouraged all the stakeholders to stick to the roadmap, which he described as a “good plan” that could enable the country’s agriculture sector to surmount any roadblocks that lie ahead. At the same time, the President expressed elation over the conduct of the convergence meeting “to listen to the suggestions and the presentations that are being given.”

During the meeting, the President spelled out measures that could aid the development of the agriculture sector, increase productivity and elevate farmers’ economic status.

Among these measures are convergence, establishing more cooperatives, adopting mechanization and new technologies, as well as digitalization. He said the national government will be making use of new technologies in the agriculture sector to attract young people to go into agribusiness and farming.

The chief executive said it is also important to continuously innovate and mechanize the systems in farming to draw the youth into agriculture. The President said the average age of Filipino farmers is around 56 to 57 years old.