The National Food Authority (NFA) is seeking twice its P9-billion budget to boost its rice procurement and support the rollout of the P20-per-kilo rice program currently being pilot-tested in select areas.

To strengthen supplies, the Department of Agriculture (DA) in a media statement said the NFA needs more resources to continue buying palay from local farmers at between P18 and P24 per kilo.

On Tuesday, the NFA said it had begun unloading 35,000 bags of well-milled rice in Cebu that were shipped from Mindoro. The transfer of 240,000 sacks from NFA warehouses in Mindoro and Iloilo is expected to be completed by June.

The delivery is part of the pilot implementation of the rice subsidy program in the Visayas, where Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor, and Southern Leyte have collectively ordered 673,000 bags. The test will run until December to help regulators determine the viability of P20-per-kilo rice for nationwide distribution.

Cebu has secured 600,000 bags, while Siquijor ordered 40,000 bags, Southern Leyte 30,000, and Bohol 3,000.

As of the end of April, NFA rice stocks stood at 7.93 million bags, good for a 10-day national consumption buffer.

The P20 rice program is a joint effort of the DA, Food Terminal Inc. (FTI), and participating local government units (LGUs).

To bring rice retail prices down to just P20 per kilo, the FTI and the LGUs share in a P13-per-kilo subsidy. The rice sold under the program comes from NFA stocks that were purchased directly from local farmers.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has allocated P4.5 billion from his contingency fund to support the pilot program, which will run until December 2025.

The P20-per-kilo rice is distributed through Kadiwa ng Pangulo centers, 11 LGUs, and selected National Housing Authority resettlement sites.

A day after the midterm elections, the program was launched in 12 Kadiwa centers across Metro Manila and nearby provinces. The number of participating sites is set to rise to 32 by Thursday.