PROPONENTS of the private sectorled initiative Kapatid Angat Lahat sa Agri Program (Kalap) backed the convergence initiatives to increase rice productivity through the Masagana Rice Industry Development Program (MRIDP), Go Negosyo founder Jose Maria “Joey” Concepcion 3rd said Thursday.

The commitment was made during the rice industry convergence meeting led by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) in Quezon City on Wednesday.

During the meeting, the President approved the MRIDP, which seeks to achieve the highest possible rice sufficiency level through the implementation of several strategies.

Under the memorandum of understanding, the MRIDP aims to ensure a vibrant, resilient and sustainable rice industry, with the goal of achieving at least 95 percent rice self-sufficiency by 2027.

The program will be carried out through several strategies such as climate change adaptation; farm clustering and consolidation or convergence of intervention; value chain approach and digital transformation.

A key component of the MRIDP is the convergence of all stakeholders involved in the development of the rice industry with the objective of pooling resources, sharing knowledge and coordinating efforts to achieve sustainable rice production and higher income for rice farmers.

In a statement, Concepcion said the proponents of Kalap “lent their support” to the MRIDP which is aligned with the publicprivate sector initiative.

He said that Go Negosyo initiated Kalap “to empower and scale up support for nation-building by integrating MSMEs into the value chain of large agriculture companies, enabling small-holder farmers and fisherfolk to become more productive, profitable, sustainable and competitive.”

Local governments are crucial partners in Kalap as they are also the big-brothers of the small farmers and work alongside the private sector to uplift the sector, Concepcion added.

Joining the President during the meeting were Concepcion, members of the Kalap big-brother companies with Universal Leaf’s Winston Uy, Agriculture Undersecretary Leo Sebastian, NIA Administrator Eddie Guillen, Yovel East’s James Amparo and Bounty Fresh’s Carl Benedick Chung.

In his remarks during the meeting, Marcos said the welfare of Filipinos must also be prioritized along with improving the country’s agricultural production.

“We’re doing this not only to feed the whole country but to also improve the lives of our farmers,” Marcos said. “They have a possibility to expand, to go into other economic activities, in agriculture or not. As much as possible, we will support the farmers.”

Marcos, who also sits as Agriculture secretary, mentioned several initiatives needed to aid farmers and improve their lives such as the consolidation and the organization of more cooperatives for their capital requirements.

Through convergence, he said, assets, resources, funding, as well as technology could be made readily available to the farmers for their benefit.

The President also mentioned mechanization, the adoption of new farming technologies, as well as digitalization as ways to help farmers.

Data from the DA showed a decline in the total palay harvest area and average palay yield in 2022. Of the 19.76 million metric tons (MMT) of palay in 2022, 14.94 MMT (75.6 percent) came from irrigated areas and 4.82 MMT (24.4 percent) from non-irrigated areas.

The top five highest rice-producing regions in 2022 were Central Luzon, 3.62 MMT; Cagayan Valley, 2.93 MMT; Western Visayas, 2.32 MMT; Ilocos, 1.96 MMT and Bicol, 1.33 MMT.