Siquijor latest beneficiary of P20/kilo rice project

Rice is sold at P20 per kilo on the Cebu Capitol grounds as the Department of Agriculture launched the affordable rice program in the province on May 1. —DA CENTRAL VISAYAS/FACEBOOK

MANILA, Philippines — The government launched on Tuesday the P20-per-kilo rice program on Siquijor Island to determine the viability of implementing the subsidized project in other remote areas.

“The launch of the P20 [per-kilo rice] program [on] this magical island of Siquijor serves as a strategic model for the initial rollout of the program across other island provinces,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said.

He said this would also help the Department of Agriculture draw the blueprint for expanding the subsidized rice program.

Food Terminal Inc. president Joseph Rudolph Lo said the island-province would serve as a “testing ground” for improving logistics and the distribution of discounted rice and establishing real-time feedback systems in preparation for the initiative’s nationwide rollout next year.

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