News Details

Over 500,000 Bicol Farmers, Fisherfolk Access ?20/kg Rice Under BBM Na Program

NPO

•

September 10, 2025

LEGAZPI CITY – More than half a million farmers and fisherfolk in the Bicol Region are now benefitting from the government’s “Benteng Bigas, Meron Na!” (BBM Na) program, which offers rice at only ₱20 per kilo.

According to Lovella Guarin, spokesperson of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in Bicol, registered farmers under the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) in Camarines Sur and Sorsogon are eligible to purchase up to 10 kilograms of rice per month, equivalent to one sack, until December.

“They simply need to present their RSBSA registration at the National Food Authority (NFA) office to avail of the program,” Guarin said in an interview, adding that the DA is also accrediting three farmers’ cooperatives and organizations to support the initiative.

The DA is complementing the program with additional support, including farm inputs, hybrid rice, and a temporary two-month ban on rice imports to help stabilize local production. This wet cropping season, around 66,700 hectares have already been planted, with a good harvest expected.

Further aid measures include ₱7,000 cash assistance and fertilizer support for farmers cultivating less than two hectares, as well as fuel subsidies for corn farmers.

As of September 5, rice prices in the market stood at ₱60 for special rice, ₱50 for premium, ₱40 for well-milled, and ₱33 for regular-milled rice—a notable drop from the previous ₱40 per kilo for regular rice.

NPO News Team | PNA-PR