The administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is on the right track in providing affordable rice in the market, according to National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon.
Edillon said in a Malacañang press briefing on Tuesday that the Marcos administration is now coming up with “economies of scale,” which will eventually lead to the fulfillment of providing affordable rice in the market.
Edillon echoed what President Marcos mentioned during Tuesday’s sectoral meeting that agricultural production should be in a commercial scale so that farmers will be able to put in the proper investments and the research and development should be sustained across the country.
“That is the general direction that we will be going to – kumbaga may economies of scale ka. So, kung ganun, going forward, yes, we can attain that pero, ayon nga, marami pang kailangan mangyari muna,” she said.
The NEDA official made the remarks when asked to react to the earlier pronouncement of Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Franciso Tiu Laurel Jr. that the PhP20.00 per kilo of rice is not yet possible at this time.
But for now, rice prices in the market will remain the same, Edillon said. “At this time, hindi pa talaga pwede.”
“So, with respect to improvements ng R&D (research and development), ‘yung irrigation natin. Sa ngayon, ang ginagawa natin is ‘yung clustering of farms, farm consolidation, para maging malalaki ang mga, you know farm sizes. We should be able to replicate that across the country,” she added.
Asked if the rice price of PhP20.00 per kilo is still feasible before the end of the term of President Marcos, Edillon said she sensed it is “an aspiration” of DA Secretary Laurel, pointing out that the DA Secretary is more knowledgeable in the agriculture sector. | PND