The government’s move to impose a floor price for rice purchases by state agencies is expected to set a strong benchmark that will raise farmers’ incomes and strengthen the National Food Authority’s (NFA) role in ensuring fair grain prices, Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said Wednesday during the Joint Press Conference on the Implementation of Executive Orders 100 and 101.

The NFA Council has authorized a palay buying price ranges from P17 to P30 per kilo, depending on moisture content and market conditions, with dry palay currently bought at P20 to P23 per kilo. The floor price, together with the Sagip Saka Act—which allows government agencies to directly purchase palay and other agricultural commodities from farmers—is expected to widen market access and stabilize farm-gate prices.

Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella III said the new pricing directive under Executive Order (EO) 100 and the full implementation of the Sagip Saka Act under EO 101 would “significantly benefit farmers” as government agencies step up local rice procurement. ### (Photos by Alan Jay Jacalan, AFID)