Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija – The provincial government is set to buy palay from local farmers at P15 per kilo, higher than the current market price which ranges from P8 to P10 per kilo.

According to Governor Aurelio Umali, the plan was discussed during the meeting of the Provincial Food Council (PFC) of Nueva Ecija, which was attended by mayors from various cities and municipalities in the province.

During the meeting, the council approved key resolutions, including the expansion and dissemination of implementing guidelines for the Palay Price Support Program (PPSP), covering palay and other agricultural products. The council also greenlit the establishment of an Agri-Trading and Processing Center in Nueva Ecija.

The PFC was created in 2019 by Umali with the goal of buying local palay through the PPSP in response to the Rice Tariffication Law, which farmers blame for depressed palay prices and the surge in rice importation.

The PFC aims to protect the livelihood of farmers in Nueva Ecija—long hailed as the Rice Granary of the Philippines.

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, palay purchased through the PFC was milled into rice and distributed by the provincial government as food assistance. That program continues today, with the latest round of distribution held in the towns of Cabiao and Aliaga.