Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said the government expects to achieve rice sufficiency by 2020, instead of 2019.
Piñol said the rice sufficiency status would not be achieved by 2019 because the funds for the Rice Productivity Enhancement or Ripe program was not approved.
The Agriculture Department is seeking a total budget of P71 billion for 2017 to achieve higher rice production.
The budget includes the first tranche of the three-year Ripe program which aims to achieve rice sufficiency by 2019.
The Ripe program calls for a review of the water management and irrigation policies.
Piñol said the rice program would cost the government P64 billion over the next three years. The first tranche of the budget covers P31 billion.
Under the rice program, the government aims to achieve rice sufficiency by 2019.
It set the rice production target at 18.517 million metric tons for 2017, 20.342 million MT for 2018 and 21.626 million MT for 2019.
“The Ripe was not approved. With the implementation of this program, I am positive that by 2020, we can achieve rice sufficiency,” Piñol said.
Piñol said instead of Ripe, the government would implement the corporate farming system which aimed to establish an assured market for rice farmers.
Under the corporate farming system, 20 kilograms of rice for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program beneficiaries will be supplied by the Filipino farmers.
Piñol said the DSWD would contract rice farmers to produce the rice requirements for the 4Ps families. LandBank will provide financing while DA would provide equipment and post-harvest facilities.
