The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) will sell rice at P29 per kilo in Kadiwa stores in Metro Manila, Cebu, and Davao two months from now, its administrator said on Tuesday.

In a Palace briefing, NIA Administrator Ricardo Guillen said the initiative is a joint effort of the agency and its irrigators’ associations.

“So, as for us at NIA, we also have a major project right now — our contract farming. And with that, we estimate that we can sell at around P29, and for us, that will be by August,” Guillen said.

“We have around 100 million kilos of rice projected to be produced by August. That is the target of the DA (Department of Agriculture), that’s our target as well. The DA says they’ll have supplies by July, but for NIA it’s by August, for the P29 rice,” he added.

The NIA chief said that each family could buy 10 kilos of rice in Kadiwa centers.

Guillen also highlighted the ongoing efforts in contract farming, which is set to provide affordable rice to the market, aligning with the Department of Agriculture’s target.

During his presidential campaign, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. promised to bring down the price of rice to P20 per kilo. He later clarified that the price was an “aspiration.”