Keeping palay prices fair, expanding P20-per-kilogram rice and fast-tracking farm-to-market roads will be the toughest test of the Department of Agriculture heading into 2026, according to Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. Tiu Laurel says the priorities are critical to sustaining rice production, keeping food affordable, and improving market access for farmers. In September, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. imposed a rice import freeze, later extended through December, after excessive imports pushed farmgate prices down to as low as P8 per kilogram.
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