The Department of Agriculture (DA) announced that it is looking to expand the distribution of its P20 rice program to soon include middle-income earners as beneficiaries.

“Ngayon kasi, baka pwede na natin i-expand ito later on, after nitong mga minimum wage earners, yung mga middle income na natin,” said DA spokesperson Arnel de Mesa during a radio program on Sunday.

(Right now, we can probably expand it later on, after minimum wage earners, to cover middle-income earners as well)

In its current setup, the initiative caters to what the DA classifies as the vulnerable sector, such as senior citizens, persons with disabilities (PWD), Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino program members (4Ps), solo parents, drivers of public transport, and members of the agricultural sector.

De Mesa said that the agricultural agency was looking to increase its number of nationwide Kadiwa stores that have been responsible for the distribution from 600 to around 1,000 outlets in the coming weeks to cater to more individuals.

Aside from rice, the DA assistant secretary said that they were also looking into different agricultural sectors to ensure that pricing remained fair for both farmers and consumers.

He noted that there had been an observed increase in various agricultural commodities prices since March, as logistical costs have risen due to the ongoing surge in oil prices.

De Mesa further explained that it was vegetables that were hit the hardest, as Filipinos have started to opt to skip the product due to the high costs.

And with its perishable nature, he said that the DA was currently looking into ways to curb the issue.

Despite rice having a relatively stable production, the spokesperson said that an issue was going to arise in the coming cropping season as the price of fertilizer in the market had also gone up.

As an answer, De Mesa said that the agency was investigating alternative sources of compost to assist farmers who will inevitably struggle as a result.