• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Negros Occidental provincial government will sell the P20 per kilogram rice for Pulupandan residents starting this week, Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson disclosed on Monday.
Lacson, however, clarified that the 50 sacks of rice to be initially sold to Pulupandan residents will not come from the National Food Authority, but are locally produced by members of the Federation of Irrigators’ Association of Central Negros-Bago River Irrigation System (FIACN-BRIS).
While the provincial government allocated P7 million for the purchase of rice from NFA, to participate in the “Bente Bigas Mo” program of the national government, Lacson said they have yet to receive communication from the government agency regarding its availability.
He said NFA prioritized highly urbanized Bacolod City in the allocation of rice supply.
Before the “Bente Bigas Mo” program was launched by the national government, the Negros Occidental provincial government had established a partnership with FIACN-BRIS to sell P25 per kilogram rice at the Food Terminal Market of Occidental Negros (FTMON).
The irrigators association has lowered to P20/kg, Lacson said.
After Pulupandan, we will also visit other areas, he added.
“It’s like a rolling store. We will not focus on one area,” the governor said, adding that “this will be a continuing program of FIACN-BRIS, but on a limited scale.”
The provincial government is subsidizing the operations of FIACN-BRIS by assisting them in the labor component and providing fertilizers.
The rice farmers expressed their intention to sell more rice, at a cheaper price, when the harvest season comes, Lacson said.
An amount of P3 million has been earmarked by the provincial government to subsidize the operational expenses of FIACN-BRIS for the rice program.*
