Iloilo’s provincial government is set to implement the System Enhancement for Rice to Booster, Increase and Sustain Gains Onwards (SERBISYO) starting in the second cropping season this year, aimed at sustaining the government’s PHP20-per-kilogram rice program.
SERBISYO is part of the “SiPag at TiyaGa for MoRProGRes sa Bagong Pilipinas,” a convergence initiative designed to support the agriculture sector and combat malnutrition in the province. In an interview on Tuesday, Geron Magbanua, chief of the crops division of the Provincial Agriculture’s Office, explained that under SERBISYO, farmers will receive input subsidies that they will repay with their produce.
“The long-term plan of the government is to establish a sustainable system to support production. Any assistance we provide, such as seeds, fertilizer, and machinery support from the provincial government, will have a recovery cost,” Magbanua stated. The subsidies will be repaid in the form of palay, which will be directed to the Iloilo Rice Processing Center in Pototan town.
One-third of the rice produced will be sold at PHP20 per kg, while the remaining two-thirds will be sold at regular market prices. The profits from the regular sales will help cover the subsidy for the PHP20-per-kilogram rice. “The production will pay for the subsidy and not the provincial government. What we will give is sort of seed capital,” he added.
The second cropping season is scheduled for the last quarter of this year, with harvest expected from January to February next year. The program will be piloted in the municipalities of Pototan, Zarraga, Dingle, Mina, and Cabatuan, covering approximately 3,000 to 4,000 hectares with a target production of 6 tons per hectare.
The Department of Agriculture will supply hybrid seeds, while the provincial government will subsidize 150 to 350 hectares. Magbanua mentioned that they plan to negotiate with the Department of Agriculture to recover a portion of their subsidy for use as seed capital.
Additionally, the provincial government will launch the PHP20-per-kilogram rice program in August, targeting 9,534 households with malnourished children. Despite the national subsidy expected next year, Magbanua emphasized the continuation of SERBISYO, aiming for zero malnourished children in the province. “We want it to be institutionalized in agriculture, and it can even be replicated by the national government,” he stated.
In his recent State of the Nation Address, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. affirmed that the PHP20-per-kilogram rice program is feasible without compromising farmers’ income and highlighted various support measures to enhance agricultural productivity.
