With the success of the initial rollout of the government’s contract rice farming program in the Cordillera region, the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) is looking to vastly increase the scope of the project in the coming year,
Under the current program, farmers may sign contracts with the government for the farming of subsidized rice, which is supported and funded by the program and then sold to the government for release to certain public sectors of vulnerable communities at a fixed price.
The rice is currently sold at a P29 per kilo rate to vulnerable sectors, such as senior citizens and individuals living under the poverty line, at a cap of 10 kilos per individual worth P290.
Currently, the contract farming program covers 246 hectares with nine partner irrigation associations (IAs). The NIA is looking to expand this coverage to at least 882 hectares in 2025, vastly increasing the availability of cheap fixed-price rice.
To date, the program in Cordillera has sold 5,193 10-kilo bags of contract-farmed rice, with another 3,000 ready in the warehouses for a total of 81,930 kilos of rice produced and made available to the government.
Kalinga produces the lion’s share of contract-farmed rice under the program, but farmers in Apayao also produce smaller amounts of rice for the program, which sells output in Kalinga, Benguet, Mountain Province, and Ifugao.
