Iloilo: The Iloilo provincial government has announced plans to enhance rice distribution throughout its 42 municipalities and one component city, utilizing PHP299 million from the Local Government Support Fund. The rice will be procured directly from local farmers' cooperatives and associations.
According to Philippines News Agency, the provincial government recently completed a pre-negotiation conference with interested farmers' cooperatives and associations. Geron Magbanua, acting head of the Provincial Agriculture Office, stated that the meeting was aimed at discussing the bidding process for supplying the necessary rice.
The procurement will involve locally produced rice from cooperatives and associations registered with the Farmers and Fisherfolk Enterprise Development Information System, or FFEDIS. The process will follow the negotiated procurement guidelines set by the Sagip Saka Act. Magbanua indicated that the winning suppliers would be responsible for delivering rice directly to the 43 local government units.
The initiative emphasizes the importance of supporting local farmers by enabling them to sell their rice produce directly to the government. The province plans to open bids on September 8 and anticipates that rice distribution will commence approximately 30 days afterward.
The program is designed to provide rice to 83,000 vulnerable households, distributed in six tranches of 10 kilograms each. This effort will serve as an augmentation for the 43 LGUs, in addition to the PHP5 million LGSF already allocated to them by the national government for rice distribution purposes.
Magbanua mentioned that the provincial government would initially release PHP5 million worth of rice to each of the 43 LGUs, with remaining funds distributed based on population. Farmers with available rice stocks are encouraged to inform their respective LGUs, allowing FFEDIS-accredited cooperatives and associations to identify potential supplies.
Cooperatives and associations have been urged to purchase rice stocks from farmers at reasonable prices. Magbanua assured beneficiaries that the rice distributed would meet quality and safety standards and that it would be sourced locally.
