ILOILO City – To ensure widespread availability of affordable rice in the region, the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) Region VI has reported favorable outcomes from the Bagong Bayaning Magsasaka (BBM) Rice program, an initiative under President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s flagship Kadiwa program.
As of April 28, a total of 64,315 bags of rice were sold at P29 per kilo, while 629,601.26 kilograms of the “Rice for All” variety were sold at P35 per kilo, according to data from NIA’s Institutional Development Section and Operations Division. As per NIA, the total amount of milled rice produced under the Farming Support Services Program (FSSP) is 1,421,531.04 kilograms. This means that more than 148,776 kilograms of milled rice are still available for distribution under the program.
Under the Kadiwa initiative, 10-kilogram bags of Bagong Bayaning Magsasaka (BBM) Rice are prioritized for vulnerable sectors — including senior citizens, persons with disabilities, solo parents, and Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries — while the P35/kg rice is open to the general public. Both varieties are distributed through Kadiwa stores operated by NIA’s Irrigation Management Offices across all provinces in the region.
However, the agency admitted that the inconsistent location and erratic schedules of Kadiwa stores may affect accessibility.
“There is no consistent schedule or fixed location. Some towns request the Kadiwa store to visit them, so it moves around weekly,” said Danielle Pijuan, NIA-6 public relations officer. “We post the schedules and locations on our Facebook page for public reference.”
NIA launched its Kadiwa rice program in September 2024, but due to the end of the harvest season, the agency is now focused on selling off remaining stocks of the RC 222 rice variety.
“Rice is still available, but we have no new supply at the moment,” Pijuan added. “We are disposing of what remains from the last harvest.”
Aside from rice distribution, NIA-6 is providing farmers with P50,000 worth of support per cropping season, including farm inputs, cash, and technical assistance. The program aims not only to stabilize rice prices but also to strengthen local agricultural productivity.
