DA to expand sale of P20/kilo rice

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December 30, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — With a target of at least 15 million households nationwide, the Department of Agriculture (DA) is set to further expand its sale of the P20-per-kilo rice to the provinces next year.

The DA said the program expansion would begin in Pangasinan next month and would be a province-wide rollout instead of the previous limited sale scheme.

But purchase limits will be retained to manage supply, with senior citizens allowed to buy up to 30 kilos per month. All other beneficiaries are capped at 10 kilos.

“We started with the most vulnerable – 4Ps beneficiaries, persons with disabilities, single parents and senior citizens,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said.

“Then we expanded to TODA members, farmers, fisherfolk, minimum wage earners, teachers and non-teaching personnel. Millions have already benefited. By 2026, our target is 15 million households, or roughly 60 million Filipinos,” he added.

Tiu Laurel reiterated that the flagship food security program aims to curb food inflation, increase access to affordable staples and support farmgate prices for palay.

The government has allocated P23 billion in 2026 to subsidize the P20/kilo rice program.

“After Pangasinan, the DA will expand the program to three cities and six additional provinces in the Visayas and Mindanao between January and February – areas that have been prioritized based on the availability of stocks and logistical readiness,” the DA said.

It added that this expansion aims to cover 780,000 households, or about 3.2 million Filipinos.

The DA said it would release a weekly program implementation schedule covering the entire year.

The program’s distribution will leverage the existing 740 Kadiwa ng Pangulo stores, public markets and outlets run by local governments, with a target of at least one access point per municipality.

The government aims to expand Kadiwa stores to 3,000 by 2028, the DA said.

“There are real bottlenecks – supply, transport and distribution,” Tiu Laurel said. “This is especially true if we scale up further or if the President wants to increase volumes.”

Most of the program’s rice supply will be sourced from the National Food Authority, which the DA said poses a challenge in delivery, especially in areas that have no NFA warehouses.

The DA said the planned expansion would require additional trucks, drivers and cashiers as well as close coordination with local governments to control costs and ensure accountability.

All subsidized rice program beneficiaries will be required to register via QR codes to streamline distribution and auditing.