Indigenous farmers in Occidental Mindoro have gained direct access to the national rice market through a new government partnership aimed at ensuring fairer prices.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) and the National Food Authority (NFA) launched the program, called Alternative Palay Market Access, with a memorandum of understanding, allowing the NFA to buy unmilled rice directly from farmer organizations.

By removing middlemen, the scheme guarantees farmers the NFA’s current buying price, which ranges from P23 to P28 pesos per kilogram for clean, dry palay, depending on quality.

Gilbert V. Baltazar, national director of the DA-4Ks program, said the partnership treats indigenous farmers as equal stakeholders.

The program also strengthens market linkages and promote sustainable farming among Mangyan ethnolinguistic groups on Mindoro island.

Agriculture officials said the direct-purchase arrangement is expected to provide more stable incomes and encourage greater participation of tribal communities in the national rice supply chain.

The country imports between 3.5 million and 4 million metric tons of rice annually to cover domestic shortfalls.

Programs like the 4Ks and NFA direct procurement will raise local production and protect marginalized growers.

photo: courtesy of NFA Occidental Mindoro