Yearender: DA: Rice the biggest challenge in 2024

MANILA, Philippines —  Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. acknowledged that rice was the biggest issue in 2024 and is still the top challenge in 2025.

“Basically, it is still rice, because we are rice-centric and because of the clamor of the people,” Tiu Laurel admitted.

He added that bringing the price of regular and well-milled rice down is another great challenge for the Department of Agriculture (DA) in 2025, as the steep price of the staple this year was a major contributor to the increase in the inflation rate in the country.

In an effort to bring down the retail price of rice by at least P7 per kilo, President Marcos has issued Executive Order (EO) 62, which lowered the tariff on rice to 15 percent from the previous 35.

Five months after the implementation of the EO in July this year, the retail price of rice is still high as it is sold for as much as P64 per kilo despite the flood of the staple, with the DA expecting at least 4.7 million metric tons of imported rice before the end of the year.

Tiu Laurel said that the high retail price of rice has forced the DA to intervene by selling P40 per kilo of rice in Metro Manila markets and Light Rail Transit and Metro Rail Transit stations under the Rice-for-All program, with at least 10 Metro Manila markets and four LRT and MRT stations selling the staple for less.

“There is positive reception in the markets for consumers. However, market masters in other markets don’t want to cooperate,” he lamented.

The agriculture chief personally talked to the mayors in Metro Manila to get their support for the P40 per kilo of rice program in the markets.

“Eight mayors agreed to be onboard. We still have another six mayors who vowed to talk to their respective market masters to allow us to bring the Kadiwa ng Pangulo Rice-for-All program to the markets,” he said.

Among the cities that agreed to allow the sale of P40 per kilo of rice in the markets include Quezon City, Pasay, Caloocan, Manila, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Malabon and Makati.

“I have yet to talk to (the mayors of) San Juan, Pasig, Taguig, Pateros, Mandaluyong and Muntinlupa,” Tiu Laurel said.

He also said that retailers were complaining as the government’s P40 per kilo of rice will compete with their goods.

“The reality is we have to compete. We already talked to them (retailers)… they promised to sell at P42 (per kilo). They agreed but they did not follow what was agreed upon,” he explained.

Tiu Laurel said that the current retail prices of rice in the markets range from P48 to P55 per kilo, hence making the P40 per kilo of rice “significant.”

At the same time, Tiu Laurel said that during the hearing of the House quinta committee, he urged lawmakers to return the powers of the National Food Authority to bring down the retail price of the staple.

He revealed that the DA targets to open at least 1,300 more Kadiwa stores next year and 1,500 Kadiwa kiosks inside the markets.

“Technically, (we want) one Kadiwa in every municipality. That’s the only way (to bring down the retail price of rice),” Tiu Laurel said.

He also announced that the Office of the President has approved the allocation of P5 billion for the Rice-for-All and P29 per kilo of rice programs.

“I just found out that the letter from the Office of the President allowed us (to implement) the P5 billion for Rice-for-All and P29 per kilo of rice program so we met on how to execute it. Starting Jan. 15, we will be buying rice from traders, farmers, farm cooperatives, importers and sell it to the Kadiwa ng Pangulo,” he said.

On the other hand, Tiu Laurel revealed that the DA will start selling “sulit rice” and “nutri rice” in 2025.

“‘Sulit rice’ will range between P35 and P36 per kilo while ‘nutri rice,’ between P36 and P37 per kilo. We can start selling ‘sulit rice’ in January and ‘nutri rice’ by the second quarter,” he said, adding that they are formulating the guidelines for selling the two kinds of rice.

AgricultureAssistant Secretary for agribusiness, marketing and consumer affairs Genevieve Velicaria-Guevarra said nutri rice will be for consumers who have diabetes, with tests being conducted to determine the nutritional value of the said rice compared to regular white rice.

Livestock, poultry diseases

Outbreaks of African swine fever (ASF) and other animal diseases, including Q fever and a new strain of bird flu, were recorded in 2024, which threatened the livestock and poultry sectors in the country.

A widespread ASF outbreak was experienced in many areas in the country after the virus was initially detected in Lobo, Batangas in August, making the town “ground zero” of the virus outbreak. It has since spread to other municipalities in the province.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) reported that ASF outbreaks were also reported in other provinces in Calabarzon – Cavite, Laguna, Rizal and Quezon.

The spread of ASF in Region 4-A forced the DA to set up checkpoints in Metro Manila as part of the government’s campaign to prevent pigs infected with ASF from reaching the markets.

Agriculture Assistant Secretary and spokesman Arnel de Mesa said there is no second wave of the outbreak of ASF, explaining that the casesbeing recorded are still part of the outbreak since the disease started in 2019.

He added that the spike in the cases of ASF in the third quarter of 2024 can be attributed to historical trends.

“Normally, if you look at the historical trend, they call it the ‘third quarter storm’ where various diseases come out, not onlyASF. It is similar to diseases in people; if the climate is new, people easily get sick,” De Mesa explained.

Hog raisers’ group National Federation of Hog Raisers Inc. vice chairman Alfred Ng said a second wave of ASF has affected the country after 2019, when the disease resulted in billions of losses to the swine industry.

To curb the effects of ASF, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. approved the emergency procurement of 10,000 ASF vaccines in an effort to control the spread of the virus in Batangas.

He also approved at least P350 million in funding for the procurement of 600,000 more doses of the vaccine.

At least 41 hogs were covered by the initial vaccination in Lobo, Batangas on Aug. 31.

Since the start of vaccinations, De Mesa reported that there was a drop in ASF outbreaks despite the limited rollout of the vaccine.

Based on latest data from the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), there was a 21 percent drop in the cases of ASF after it recorded outbreaks of the virus in 369 barangays compared to the previous 467 barangays.

As of Nov. 22, cases of ASF were reported in seven regions, 18 provinces, 78 municipalities and 369 barangays.

“As of now, the pigs were able to adjust, that is why the cases of ASF went down without a vaccine,” De Mesa said.

He added that the strict biosecurity in Metro Manila and nearby provinces also contributed to managing the ASF outbreaks.

He further stated that the nationwide vaccination of hogs is still necessary to be able to totally eliminate the threat ofASF.

“Unless we can vaccinate a significant population of pigs (the ASF will continue to spread) so we need to ensure that the hogs are protected,” he said.

The ASF outbreaks in the country have resulted in pork scare among consumers, with the retail price and demand of pork sinking.

However, the DA reported that pork consumption has improved since October as the scare of consumers on ASF has diminished.

Q fever

Aside from ASF, the first case of Q fever was detected in the country in June, which was attributed to the importation from the US of 66 goats infected with the virus.

The goats tested positive for Q fever on June 20 after a series of tests.

Tiu Laurel suspended BAI officials following the incident.

De Mesa added that the disciplinary action against the BAI officials should serve as a warning against other personnel of the DA and its attached agencies.

He added that regulatory agencies, especially the BAI, Bureau of Plant Industry and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, are expected to implement necessary adjustments to prevent similar incidents.

De Mesa said the outbreak of Q fever in the country is already under control, adding that there are no more active cases of the disease.

“The BAI has also implemented stringent measures to prevent the spread of Q fever for both animals and humans,” he further stated.

The agriculture official further said it is also necessary for concerned authorities to immediately report any new cases amid the delay in the report of the outbreak of Q fever in Pampanga.

“Detection is very important so that it will be reported immediately. We will also implement stringent measures in the quarantine facilities. These are all in place,” he assured the public.

The DA also announced the detection of a new strain of bird flu in Talisay, Camarines Norte with a case of highly pathogenic avian influenzatype A Subtype H5N2 that affected a duck farm.

De Mesa said the discovery of the H5N2 strain in the province is also the first case in the country.

“This is a new strain as what was recorded previously was the H5N1 strain, the most common strain,” he stated.

The official added that there are only two ongoing bird flu cases in the country, adding that aside from Camarines Norte, an outbreak of avian influenza was reported in Pandi, Bulacan.

“The new strain is less virulent and the transmission is less,” he said.

According to De Mesa, the H5N2 strain was reported on Dec. 6 by the Animal Disease Diagnosis and Reference Laboratory, following routine surveillance conducted by the DA Regional Field Office 5.

De Mesa said that culling operations were done to contain the infection.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said bird flu spreads among wild aquatic birds worldwide and can infect domestic poultry and other bird and animal species.

It added that bird flu viruses do not normally infect humans. However, sporadic human infections with avian influenza viruses have occurred.