Filipino rice farmers expressed their gratitude Thursday for the assistance they got from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. who also headed the Department of Agriculture.

In a statement, Fernando Salvador, who represents rice farmers of San Jose City, Nueva Ecija, said they are not only enjoying better prices from their recent harvests but are also happy about it. He thanked President Marcos for his support to them through the DA seedlings and fertilizers assistance program, especially during this wet season.

Salvador said President Marcos' assurance that he will make agricultural productivity a "top priority" is a sign that the country is not any more focused on importing the basic Filipino staple.

He said over a hundred sacks of rice were harvested in every hectare of rice farmland compared to previous years.

The Department of Agriculture, on the other hand, reported that around 532,980 metric tons of palay were harvested this October in Nueva Ecija alone, and an expected 153,000 more metric tons for the November harvest.

Salvador added that they were also grateful when President Marcos announced that he had allocated P4.73 billion for the agricultural sector's mechanization and modernization during the 70th Founding Anniversary of the Federation of Free Farmers (FFF).

This was aside from the President's promise that the government would work to strengthen farmers' organizations and cooperatives for additional opportunities for their members.

Marcos also encouraged small farmers to be members of these organizations and cooperatives as it served as a fundamental tool of agricultural development to attain food security.

He said farmers as members of cooperatives have high participation in supporting cooperatives to make products or business activities.

Marcos also said in the FFF event that he would initiate social reform and rural development which were the priority of his late father, former president Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr.