Philippines : Iloilo province to implement ‘SERBISYO’ to boost rice production
Iloilo province will roll out the **SERBISYO** program in the second cropping season to support the PHP20-per-kg. rice initiative. Under this model, farmers receive input subsidies repayable in rice. A portion of the harvest will be sold at subsidized rates, with the rest sold at market prices to fund the program sustainably.
ILOILO CITY – Iloilo’s provincial government will implement the System Enhancement for Rice to Booster, Increase and Sustain Gains Onwards (SERBISYO) starting in the second cropping this year to sustain the government’s PHP20-per-kg. rice program.
SERBISYO is a component of the “SiPag at TiyaGa for MoRProGRes sa Bagong Pilipinas,” a convergence program of the government aimed at sustaining the agriculture sector and addressing malnutrition in the province.
In an interview on Tuesday, Geron Magbanua, chief of the crops division of the Provincial Agriculture’s Office, said under SERBISYO, they would provide an input subsidy to farmers, which they have to repay with their produce.
“The long-term plan of the government is to establish a sustainable system to support production. Any assistance that we give, like seeds, fertilizer, and machinery support from the provincial government, will have a recovery cost,” he said.
Whatever the amount of subsidy, they will pay in the form of palay that will go directly to the Iloilo Rice Processing Center in Pototan town.
One-third of the rice will be sold at PHP20 per kg., while two-thirds will be sold at a regular price.
The profit from the regular price will cover the subsidy for the PHP20-per-kg. rice, he said.
“The production will pay for the subsidy and not the provincial government. What we will give is sort of seed capital,” he said.
The second cropping will be in the last quarter of this year, and harvest is expected from January to February next year.
It will be piloted in the municipalities of Pototan, Zarraga, Dingle, Mina, and Cabatuan, covering roughly 3,000 to 4,000 hectares with a target production of 6 tons per hectare.
The Department of Agriculture will provide the hybrid seeds, but 150 to 350 hectares will be subsidized by the provincial government.
Magbanua said their next move is to encourage and negotiate with the Department of Agriculture if they can also recover a portion of their subsidy and use it as seed capital.
Meanwhile, he said the provincial government would launch the PHP20-per-kg. rice program in August, targeting 9,534 households with malnourished children.
Even with the national subsidy next year, he said, they would continue with SERBISYO because the target is 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 said.
In his State of the Nation Address on Monday, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said the government has proven that the PHP20-per-kg. rice is possible without compromising the income of farmers.
He also mentioned the various support provided to farmers to improve their productivity. (PNA)
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Source : PNA
