In support of the aspiration of President Ferdinand E. Marcos Jr., the SanGlad RiceBIS Farmers Association sold milled rice at PhP20/kilo in a recent Lakbay Palay of the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice) in Bual Norte, Midsayap.
Merily Ortega, president of SanGlad, said that with the guidance of the Rice Business Innovations System (RiceBIS) program of DA-PhilRice from production to marketing, they managed to produce palay and sell it as milled rice at only PhP20 per kilo. The lucky buyers brought home a total of 800kg milled rice.
She testified that RiceBIS improved their rice farming practices. They were educated on the PalayCheck System, and the value of marketing their own produce was also hammered into their shared mentality.
SanGlad farmers averaged last cropping at 5.79t/ha with a production cost of PhP55,000/ha or PhP9.50/kg. Before RiceBIS days, they harvested only 4.34t/ha.
The farmers ventured into milling their palay at a production cost of PhP14.48/kg milled rice, hence selling it at PhP20/kilo still earned them an income of PhP5.52 per kilo.
Local RiceBIS coordinator and OIC Branch Director Ommal H. Abdulkadil said they cultivate a deep sense of ownership among the farmers on their enterprise.
“We encourage them hard to transact with offices, process the needed papers or documents, and market their products so they will truly feel that they own the business. We are just there to monitor, guide, and provide support, if needed,” he added.
