NORTHERN Mindanao is sufficient on rice up to December this year, the region's Department of Agriculture (DA) reported.
During the third quarter Regional Development Council of Northern Mindanao (RDC-X) Economic Development Committee meeting on September 14, DA Regional Executive Director Carlene Collado said the region's rice sufficiency until December 2023 is at 117 percent.
He also noted that buffer stocks of DA-National Food Authority will augment the same those sourced from rice importations, in case of any disasters.
According to Lana May Racines, the Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation Division officer-in-charge, Northern Mindanao's rice requirement for food from August to December 2023 is around 227,820 metric tons.
The total available rice in the region is 267,289 metric tons.
The DA regional executive director also assured that rice retailers in Northern Mindanao are compliant to the Executive Order 39, which sets the price cap of regular milled rice to P41 per kilogram and P45/kg for well-milled rice.
“We have conducted a lot of meetings and price monitoring activities with the Bantay Presyo Task Force and have seen that a lot of retailers have followed said price caps,” Collado said.
Collado also reported that the regional agriculture agency is set to procure hybrid white corn seeds and establish corn silos to assure quality corn produce.
Hybrid white corn seeds are seen as an alternative to rice.