DA extends P20 rice program reach

The Department of Agriculture (DA) is expanding its flagship food security program, “Benteng Bigas, Meron Na! Para sa Magsasaka,” to four more areas, making P20-per-kilo rice available to more Filipinos.

The program, which launched last week, will now include Laoag City, Ilocos Norte; Roxas City, Capiz; Baloy, Cagayan de Oro City; and San Jose, Occidental Mindoro, DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said Wednesday.

Laurel also announced that by next week, the program will be expanded to include fisherfolk and fish port workers listed in the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture.

Initial beneficiaries from the fisheries sector will include communities in Lucena City, Quezon; Sual, Pangasinan; and Navotas.

Eligible individuals can purchase up to 10 kilograms of the subsidized rice per month.

The DA plans to continue scaling up the program with the goal of reaching 15 million households by next year.

To recall, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has approved an additional P10 billion in funding for 2026 and ordered the DA to sustain the program until his term ends in June 2028.