President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. led the ceremonial harvesting of palay and distribution of various assistance to representatives of more than 12,000 farmers and farmers cooperative and associations (FCAs) during his visit to Candaba on February 3, 2024.
The assistance included a hauling truck, bags of certified inbred rice seeds, financial assistance, fertilizer discount vouchers, warehouse with mechanical dryer, Integrated National Swine Production Initiatives for Recovery and Expansion (INSPIRE) Repopulation and Clustering Program, and agribusiness marketing assistance intervention.
Data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on 30 January 2024 showed that palay production last year reached 20.06 million metric tons (MT), the highest ever harvest of the country’s national staple. This output was 1.5 percent higher than the 2022 volume of 19.76 million MT.
The record palay harvest translates to 13.2 million MT of rice, an amount that allowed the country to reduce rice import volume to 3.5 million MT from 3.8 million MT in 2022.
At the recent Bagong Pilipinas Kick-off rally, President Marcos Jr. recognized the critical role of farmers and fisherfolks towards ensuring a robust food supply for the nation and reaffirmed his commitment to bolstering the agriculture sector, noting food production as a pivotal element in national development.
