00:00 It was the Department of Agriculture's turn to face the House panel on appropriations
00:04 to validate their proposed outlay for next year with a 6.1 percent increase.
00:10 And discussions proceeded immediately to the most pressing issue on the agricultural economy,
00:15 the supply and rising prices of the national grain.
00:18 PTV senior correspondent Manalis Moras on the DAO officials denying the existence of
00:24 so-called rice cartels and their assurances of sufficient supply going forward.
00:32 The Department of Agriculture believes there is no rice cartel in the country.
00:36 During today's deliberations of the House Committee on Appropriations on the proposed
00:41 budget of the Department of Agriculture for 2024, issues on rice took top billing in the
00:47 points of discussion.
00:48 According to Agriculture Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban, despite the reported increase
00:53 in rice prices nowadays, they are taking necessary measures on the matter and the public can
00:59 be assured of no rice shortage in the country for now and in the near future.
01:04 The prices range from 38 to 50, 60 and on that basis we are still looking for solutions
01:13 and the best solution probably that we can do at this point is to import, at least initially,
01:19 to stabilize the price of palay in the public market.
01:22 We have sent people to India to negotiate for importation of some 500,000 metric tons
01:31 of rice and on that we are still in the process of accelerating what can be done as far as
01:41 rice importation is concerned.
01:42 We expect, Mr. Chair, that by harvest time, the price, considering that the price at the
01:50 local level, our local production has also gone up because of the higher cost of production
01:55 and higher farm gate price.
01:59 We expect that if it will stabilize at 45 to 46, that will be good for our farmers and
02:09 also hopefully we can cope up with that price, Mr. Chair.
02:14 Apart from rice, issues on onions were also brought up and the lawmakers want the DA to
02:19 assure the ballooning and runaway onion prices last year must never happen again.
02:25 The Undersecretary of DOJ under Jeronimo C conducted a case conference and case build-up
02:39 together with the Philippine Competition Commission, the AMLOC, DTI and the Department of Agriculture
02:49 to build up the cases against those responsible for the price of onions last year.
03:00 For 2024, the DA is asking for a P167.5 billion budget, which is P9.7 billion or 6.1% higher
03:09 compared to their current fund allocation.
03:12 Each and every program of the agency is aimed at ensuring food security in the country,
03:16 which the legislators truly support.
03:20 We must reaffirm our commitment to fortifying our agricultural programs, ensuring the resilience
03:26 of our food supply chain and fostering an environment where both our farmers and consumers
03:33 can thrive.
03:34 Melales Moras for the Nation.
