Filipino farmers expressed their gratitude Friday for the better prices for their harvests, and for the assistance they received from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who concurrently heads the Department of Agriculture.

In a statement, the association of rice farmers in Isabela said they were not only enjoying better prices from their recent harvests but were also happy with President Marcos' order to utilize the excess collections of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund to help the rice farmers.

Noel Baquiran, municipal agriculturist of Tumauini, Isabela, said the farmers' incomes from their harvest were good in the wet season of 2023.

Baquiran said the farmers also enjoyed lower production post-harvest costs because of the DA subsidy they received through the Isabela provincial government, aside from the higher buying price of the National Food Authority.

The Federation of Irrigators Associations, also in Isabela, could sell their fresh palay at P20 per kilo, while their dry palay sold for up to P26 per kilo.

Samuel Lugo, president of the Tumaini Irrigation Pilot Area, said the rice farmers are slowly enjoying their improved situation and income, enabling them to provide for the daily needs of their families.

Lugo said the farmers wished to thank President Marcos for his support through the  DA seedling and fertilizer assistance program, which benefited over 4,000 farmers who till almost 3,000 hectares of farmland in  Tumauini.

Data from the DA Regional Field Office of Cagayan Valley showed an average yield of five metric tons per hectare with an average gross income of P112,000 for the farmers' associations.

Wet season

During this wet season, about 326,301 hectares of farmland in Isabela were planted to palay with a targeted rice harvest of 606,826 metric tons.

As of 30 September, 108,528 hectares had produced 453,400 metric tons of palay.

Data from the National Rice Program of the DA showed palay prices in March 2023 rose to P17.69 a kilo for fresh and P19.73 for dry, compared to the same month last year, when palay prices were P15.99 for fresh and P18.41 for dry.

In April 2023, the price of fresh palay was P17.66 per kilo, and dry was P20.38, while in April 2022, the prices were P15.57 for fresh and P17.95 for dry.

The highest posted palay price was in Central Luzon at P22 for fresh palay and P25 for dry, the DA-NRP data showed.

DA Regional Field Office 3, which covers Nueva Ecija, the country's rice granary, reported that palay prices in April 2023 were at P20.46 for dry palay and P17.64 for fresh. These prices were higher than the April 2022 rates of P18.20 for dry palay and P15.67 for newly harvested grains.

In addition, DA Regional Field Office 2, which covers Isabela, another major rice-producing province in Luzon, showed the prices of palay in March 2022 were P18.48 for dry and P15.10 for fresh. For March 2023, palay prices in Cagayan Valley were P20.47 for dry and P16.52 for fresh palay.

Separate data from the Philippine Rice Industry Stakeholders Movement (PRISM), comprising rice millers and palay traders, showed both fresh and dry palay prices for the 2023 dry season: Isabela, P18.50 (fresh) and P22.50 (dry); Nueva Ecija, P19.50 and P23.50; Bulacan, P20 and P24; Tarlac and Pangasinan, P18.50 and P22.50; Mindoro, P19 and P23; Leyte, P17.50 and P21.50; Caraga, P19 and P23; Iloilo, P18 and P22; and Davao, P19.40 and P23.40.