MANILA - Regular Kadiwa stores of the Department of Agriculture are not yet selling rice at P25 per kilo.

ABS-CBN News made rounds in four Kadiwa centers in Metro Manila, and it found that they are only selling local commercial rice at P44 per kilo and above.

In the "Kadiwa sa Pasko" project President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. spearheaded in Mandaluyong on Wednesday morning, the National Food Authority (NFA) sold rice at P25 per kilo.

This was also when he announced that the country is close to selling rice at P20 per kilo.

• Marcos on P20/kilo rice: Palapit na tayo doon

But DA's Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Service (DA-AMAS) says this is limited.

Junibert de Sagun, director of DA-AMAS, confirmed to ABS-CBN News that regular Kadiwa stores are only selling farmers' produce so far.

"Kahapon nung nag-launch, meron NFA rice sa mga Kadiwa kahapon pero yung regular na Kadiwa natin na tumatakbo ng ilang buwan na, eh para mabigyan naman ng pagkakataon yung magsasaka na makapagbenta ng bigas. So balancing act yan. Yung nakaraan, palay yan ng local farmers," De Sagun said.

He said they will be coordinating with NFA if they have enough rice to supply 200 Kadiwa Centers nationwide.

"Sa ngayon, ang regular na Kadiwa, ang ibinebentang bigas diyan, ay bigas ng mga magsasaka, hindi siya NFA Rice. Pero siguro, with the directive of the President, lalagyan natin ng NFA Rice in coordination with the National Food Authority," he added.

Kadiwa is a project of the Department of Agriculture wherein farmer cooperatives are directly selling produce at a much lower price.

There are 40 Kadiwa Centers in Metro Manila but they are not operating simultaneously.

Bantay Bigas, for its part, says selling NFA rice might not be sustainable in the long run.

This is because NFA's buffer stock is low, and might not last long.

According to their data, the country consumes 33,000 metric tons of rice daily. With this, NFA's stock can only last for three days.

It's not NFA's mandate anymore to sell rice at a lower price.

The Rice Tarrification Law (RTL) has removed this and reduced NFA's mandate to buffer stocking rice to be used during calamities.

But Bantay Bigas' president Cathy Estavillo said selling rice at 20 pesos per kilo is still possible.

However, the RTL must be repealed first, and more subsidies must be given to farmers.

"Hindi kataka-taka na yung Kadiwa ay hindi araw-araw nagbebenta, kasi mauubos din agad. Dapat sustained, kung magtatayo na lang din ng Kadiwa, dalhin mo sa palengke yan, para madama rin ng tao yung effect niya sa mataas na presyo ng bilihin," Estavillo said.

• Marcos Jr. on P20 per kilo rice: 'Everything is possible'

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