The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) and its contract farmers are offering relief to the high prices of rice.

At the NIA Region 7 office in Tagbilaran City, Bohol, P29 per kilo Bagong Bayaning Magsasaka (BBM) rice were sold to senior citizens, persons with disability (PWD), solo parents and 4Ps beneficiaries at a Kadiwa ng Pangulo store there last 25 October. Each were sold up to 10 kilos of the milled BBM rice or P290.

At the NIA central office in Quezon City, despite the heavy rains from tropical storm “Kristine,” seniors, PWDs, single parents and 4Ps members came and bought BBM rice on 25 October. Likewise, at the NIA-Negros Occidental Irrigation Management Office in Celis Street, Poblacion, Bago City.

The same BBM rice were sold in Kadiwa stores at the NIA compound in Quezon, Isabela, and the NIA Davao del Sur Irrigation Management Office (IMO) in Matanao, Davao del Sur on 24 October.

BBM rice sold for P29 a kilo at a Kadiwa in front of the Ilocos Norte Provincial Capitol on 11 October.

The P29-per-kilo BBM rice was made possible through the NIA’s Farmers Support Services Program. More than a million kilos of such rice worth P33.15 million had been sold to about 114,300 individuals and families nationwide by the agency at its offices since last year.

The rice were cultivated in 38,000 hectares of farms tilled by members of NIA irrigators’ associations nationwide that are participating in the program this current 2024 wet season cropping.

The NIA plans to expand the contracted areas for the dry cropping season next year and distribute BBM rice to more people other than the vulnerable ones.

For the current wet cropping season, the program will strill produce 110,414 metric tons of rice until the end of 2024, according to NIA Administrator Eduardo Guillen.

This current 2024 wet season, the NIA under its contract farming program has partnered with 742 IAs and farmers’ cooperatives and associations, with a total of 32,835 members, tilling altogether 37,953 hectares.