Rice self-sufficiency goal delayed till 2019Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said the Philippines has pushed back its rice self-sufficiency target to 2019 as funding constraints hamper efforts to increase productivity and areas dedicated to rice. This will translate to an additional 4.8 million MT of rice, more than enough to cover the 1.8 million MT rice shortage annually. “By 2019, we expect to hit rice self-sufficiency,” Piñol said, noting that palay production is expected to be level with the demand at 21.626 million MT by then. To achieve the rice self-sufficiency goal, Piñol said the DA is proposing a P71-billion budget for 2017, significantly higher than the earlier proposal of P46 billion. “For the first tranche for the rice program we would need about P31 billion, the main reason why the 2017 budget jacked up.

Source: Manila Times July 28, 2016 12:45 UTC