The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) has expressed its support for the Department of Agriculture’s proposal to extend the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF).

“NEDA is looking at that issue. There are pros, there are cons. I would like to think that keeping the RCEF and targeting it well to improve the productivity of rice is not a bad idea,” NEDA Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said on the sidelines of 2024 National Innovation Day.

The NEDA chief stated that keeping the tariffs from the rice imports would be good but it should be decided “whether you dedicate that tariff collection from the rice imports to rice only or to become a part of the general fund of government.”

“For me, using it for agriculture but ensuring this time that it’s really used for highly productive uses especially those that will address the low productivity issues in the rice sector, I think that will be a good move,” he added.

According to the Rice Tariffication Act or Republic Act No. 11203, the RCEF, which was implemented in 2018, should be allocated P10 billion each year for the next six years to support Filipino farmers.

The P10 billion budget for RCEF comes from the tariff collection from imported rice.

Asked if there’s a possibility to raise the budget for RCEF, NEDA Undersecretary Rosemarie G. Edillon said that the previous implementation should be evaluated first before increasing the allocation.

The rice tariffication law states that if the annual tariff revenues from rice importation exceeds P10 billion in any given year, the excess tariff revenues shall be earmarked by Congress and included in the General Appropriations Act of the following year.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. said that a total of P29 billion in tariffs was collected last year, noting that there should be an increase for rice funding to bump rice recovery.

“Only P10 billion goes to the RCEF… We should exceed this [budget] and invest more in harvest and mechanization,” the agri chief stated.

Furthermore, President Marcos issued Administrative Order (AO) No. 20 that orders the Agriculture department to remove non-tariff barriers on the importation of agricultural products, to lower prices, and to ensure supply. (Xander Dave Ceballos, Manila Bulletin)