A TOTAL of P10.363 billion has been committed to modernize rice processing as the government seeks to ramp up rice procurement, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.
The said amount was allotted for the establishment of 36 modern facilities. There are also 128 warehouses up for rehabilitation, of which, 100 have already been repaired, according to the department.
“Modernization is meanwhile accelerating. The NFA inaugurated the Dumangas Grain Facility in Iloilo, equipped with a 10-MT-per-hour rice mill and a mechanical dryer with a 240-MT-per-day capacity,” the DA said in a statement.
The DA also secured a P1.7-billion grant for the NFA Cauayan Rice Processing project.
The modernization efforts also included 150 delivery and cargo trucks, 47 administrative vehicles and expanded Tonner Bag System operations.
As of September 18, the National Food Authority (NFA) projected its milled-rice stock at 278,444 metric tons (MT), which covers roughly seven days of national demand.
Between January and September 2026, the NFA bought 92,032 MT of unhusked rice or palay for P27 to P30 per kilo and disbursed 207,648 MT of rice overall — including 126,737 MT allocated to its P20 per kilo program and 28,983 MT in total releases.
Moreover, the DA said a competitive auction of 39,597 MT of older rice yielded roughly P1.1 billion and freed up storage for newly harvested palay.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that the estimated production of palay may decline in the third quarter of the year.
Based on the standing crop as of August 2026, the PSA said estimated palay production for July to September 2026 may fall to 3.19 million metric tons, down 15% from the actual output of 3.75 million metric tons in the same period in 2025. (GMA News)
