Farmers want President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to address in his State of the Nation Address (SoNA) on Monday the continuing drop in the farmgate price of palay (unmilled rice) against the rising cost of production.

At Saturday’s “State of Agriculture Forum: Reclaim Our Rice, Secure Our Future” held in Quezon City, the Integrated Rural Development Foundation (IRDF) presented a sobering report on the worsening disparity between palay production costs and market prices.

According to the IRDF, in 2023 the average cost to produce a kilo of palay was P13.38 while the farmgate price was P19.88.

In 2024, production costs rose to P14.52, with a corresponding farmgate price of P23.48. But by the first quarter of 2025, production costs surged to P19.54, surpassing the farmgate price, which dropped to P18.57.

“In some provinces, palay is being bought for as low as P10. That’s a loss of P8 per kilo,” said Arze Glipo, IRDF executive director.

She blamed the influx of imported rice — driven by the Rice Tariffication Law — for further undercutting the income of the country’s more than three million rice farmers.

Joining the forum virtually, Mang Cesar from Busay, Ligao City, shared a grim reality: in their area, palay is being bought at just P9 per kilo.

“Salt costs more at P12 per kilo,” he said in Filipino. “The government should act quickly to help us.” He said palay in some areas fetch as low as P7 or P8.

“We have mouths to feed. Our children need to go to school,” Mang Cesar pleaded, urging the Department of Agriculture to intervene by creating a local market for farmers’ produce and suspending rice importation during harvest season.

Joseph Lumibao, president of an irrigation association in Sorsogon, echoed the frustration. He said the National Irrigation Administration has repeatedly told them there is no budget to repair their damaged irrigation walls.

The farmers called on Marcos to enact lasting solutions to rescue the rice sector. They noted that the number of rice farmers was steadily shrinking, with the next generation increasingly turning away from the trade, having seen the “unbearable burden” of producing palay.