The National Food Authority (NFA) in Occidental Mindoro is preparing to dispatch 80,000 bags of rice to the Visayas region to supply the government’s P20-per-kilogram rice program, officials confirmed Tuesday.

The shipments, currently undergoing fumigation before transport via Caminawit Port, will bolster rice supplies in the Visayas with limited rice production including Cebu, Bohol, Negros Island, Samar, and Leyte.

“The additional stocks for the Visayas will mainly come from Mindoro Island, where the NFA inventory exceeds 830,000 bags of rice,” NFA Administrator Larry Lacson said in a statement.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr., who chairs the NFA Council, has directed the agency to begin repositioning stocks in preparation for the program’s Visayas launch.

The program, colloquially known as “BBM Rice” after President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., is designed to fulfill his campaign promise of more affordable staple foods.

Since its phased implementation in early 2024, the program has expanded across Luzon and now targets underserved areas in the Visayas.

Logistics remain challenging, with officials estimating that transferring 40,000 sacks from Mindoro to Cebu alone could take up to a month.

The rice will be sourced from NFA buffer stocks, which recently reached a five-year high of 378,157 metric tons – sufficient to feed the entire Filipino population for approximately 10 days.

Beyond improving food accessibility, the program also aims to create warehouse space enabling the NFA to purchase more palay from Mindoro farmers at competitive prices.

Photos: courtesy of NFA Occidental Mindoro