The Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) is enhancing its rice buyback program to stabilize rice prices in Bohol, OPA head Liza Quirog announced during an interview over “Newsmakers ug Uban Pa” with Ardy Araneta-Batoy.
Quirog said the program comes as the harvest season peaks, with farmers currently selling wet palay at P13 to P14 per kilogram and dry palay at P17 to P19 per kilogram.
To counter low prices offered by traders, the Capitol is stepping in with a buyback program, purchasing palay at P20 to P24 per kilogram.
The purchased palay will be milled and sold in the market at a target price of P45 per kilogram, with plans under consideration to lower it to P43 to ensure economic viability.
“The Capitol is intervening to bring more affordable rice to consumers,” Quirog said, noting that the rice will be available at the showcase center in front of Bohol Wisdom School.
She noted the high quality of the rice, sourced exclusively from farmers enrolled in the Capitol’s seed program, which distributes hybrid or certified inbred seeds to minimize broken grains.
In a related development, Quirog pointed out the launch of a provincial program, “Suhid sa Malampusong Maguumang Bol-anon,” modeled after a Department of Agriculture roadmap.
The program will recognize top performers and best practices in Bohol’s agriculture sector across 30 categories.
Meanwhile, the Capitol is expanding support for local fishermen and farmers.
Quirog announced the distribution of boats to three fishermen’s organizations in Panglao, Duero, and Guindulman. Additionally, 402 farmers’ organizations across 40 towns received irrigation pumps, water drums, and hoses to improve water access for planting.
During a separate segment of “The Capitol Reports” covering the turnover of climate-resilient irrigation interventions, Quirog provided further details on the buyback program’s history.
She noted that during the previous harvest season in October, November, and December, palay was purchased at P30 per kilogram.
However, with the current peak harvest driving prices down, the program aims to maintain a buying range of P20 to P30 per kilogram.
Quirog added that a minimum trader price of P20 per kilogram has been set, with some towns seeing rates rise to P22 due to market demand and price sensitivity.
The buyback program also ties into the “Bugas Bol-anon” program, with rice sold at the city’s Showcase Center for P45 per kilogram as regular milled rice.
Two weeks into the program, a fresh supply is already lined up for this week, Quirog said.