Rice job: Philippines’ Bongbong Marcos appoints himself agriculture chief, plans ‘impossible’ rice price slash
- Though not unprecedented, it is unusual for a Philippines president to hold a post in his own cabinet – he should ‘rely on good advisers’, expert said
- Marcos’ plan to dramatically lower local rice prices to 20 pesos a kg (37 cents) is ‘impossible’, agriculture economist said
Philippines’ President-elect Ferdinand Marcos awarded himself the post of agriculture minister on Monday, citing the urgent need to address challenges in the sector and boost production to prevent food shortages and price increases.
Ramping up agricultural production in a country known for being one of the world’s biggest importers of rice, its national staple, would be among his priorities, Marcos told a news conference.
Tempering food price increases has become even more crucial for the Southeast Asian country as it battles inflation that reached its highest in more than three years in May.
“From the very beginning, I have always said that agriculture is going to be a critical and foundational part of our economic development or economic transformation as we anticipate the post pandemic economy,” he said.
Though not unprecedented, it is unusual for a Philippines president to hold a post in his own cabinet.
Among his policy pledges in his election campaign, Marcos said slashing the price of rice by more than half to 20 pesos (US$0.3704) per kilo was his “aspiration”.
