The Iloilo provincial government is expanding its rice distribution initiative to 42 municipalities and one component city, utilizing a ₱299-million Local Government Support Fund (LGSF) to purchase grain directly from local agricultural groups.
To prepare for the supply procurement, the Provincial Agriculture Office held a pre-negotiation session with prospective cooperative suppliers.
“Yesterday we completed our pre-negotiation conference. We met with (farmers) cooperatives and associations that are interested in bidding,” Magbanua said in a phone interview with the Philippine News Agency.
Under the provisions of the Sagip Saka Act, the province will acquire the supply through negotiated procurement from organizations listed in the Farmers and Fisherfolk Enterprise Development Information System (FFEDIS).
Selected suppliers will send the rice directly to the 43 participating local government units (LGUs).
“This is one platform where we can give importance to our farmers to sell their rice produce directly to the government,” he said.
Bidding opens on September 8, with deliveries anticipated to start within 30 days. The project targets 83,000 vulnerable families, providing each household with six batches of 10-kilogram rice allocations.
This provincial initiative supplements a separate ₱5-million LGSF allocation that each of the 43 LGUs received from the national government. The province plans an initial ₱5-million rice distribution per LGU, with the remaining funds allocated according to local population sizes.
Magbanua encouraged local growers with available inventory to connect with their LGUs and reminded participating cooperatives to maintain fair buying rates while upholding product quality.
“The rice will come from our local source,” he said.