Push Admin

PH to aim for rice self-sufficiency in 1-2 yrs - Duterte spokesman

Article (news)

Neil Jerome Morales, Reuters

DAVAO - The administration of Philippine President-elect Rodrigo Duterte will aim to make the country self-sufficient in rice production within one to two years, but will still allow imports until the goal is achieved, his spokesman said.&quot;We will work for rice self sufficiency. But that will not be immediate so we will continue to import if we have a shortfall,&quot; spokesman Peter Laviña told Reuters on Friday. Duterte will become president next month.Laviña said domestic rice production will be intensified to achieve the self-sufficiency goal, echoing a similar promise by the outgoing administration of President Benigno Aquino, which poured billions of pesos into agriculture.The Philippines, the world&#x27;s No. 3 rice buyer, regularly imports more than a million tonnes a year of the food staple to meet demand from its growing population.&quot;We will develop idle lands, give more support to the agricultural sector, modernize it,&quot; Laviña said. &quot;Rice farming can be modernised ... so we can undertake all these measures to increase the productivity of our rice farmers.&quot;A plan by the incumbent government to import an additional 500,000 tons of rice this year to beef up state reserves will be reviewed, Laviña said, adding that more transparent government-to-government deals are preferable to allowing private traders to transact shipments.Under government-to-government transactions the country&#x27;s National Food Authority (NFA) could only enter into rice supply deals with the governments of the three countries from which it buys rice, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia.Asked how soon the new administration will talk to those countries about supply, Laviña said: &quot;That would be immediate.&quot;Some 500,000 tons of rice bought by the NFA from Vietnam and Thailand arrived in the first quarter and outgoing President Benigno Aquino has given the agency a standby authority to import an additional 500,000 tons if needed.The country&#x27;s paddy rice output in the first quarter fell 9.97 percent from a year ago to 3.9 million tons, below the government&#x27;s forecast of 4.01 million tons, amid a crippling drought linked to the El Nino weather phenomenon.

DAVAO - The administration of Philippine President-elect Rodrigo Duterte will aim to make the country self-sufficient in rice production within one to two years, but will still allow imports until the goal is achieved, his spokesman said.

PH to aim for rice self-sufficiency in 1-2 yrs - Duterte spokesman

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Traffic

Manila

Horoscope

Business

PH to aim for rice self-sufficiency in 1-2 yrs - Duterte spokesman

Neil Jerome Morales,

Reuters

Published May 13, 2016 01:20 PM PHT

|

Updated May 13, 2016 05:11 PM PHT

Read More:

Rodrigo Duterte

rice

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.