On October 25, 2025, Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signed Executive Order 100, which tasks the Department of Agriculture (DA) with setting a floor price for palay (unhusked rice) in order to shield farmers from volatile and unreasonably low farmgate rates.
Under the EO, the DA must consider a number of key factors when determining the floor price: production costs, current market prices, regional variances in cost and margin, the welfare of farmers, and the need to keep rice affordable for consumers.
The EO also establishes a multi-agency Steering Committee chaired by the DA and co-chaired by the Department of the Interior and Local Government. The committee includes the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and the National Food Authority (NFA). Their tasks include monitoring farmgate transactions, submitting quarterly reports to the President, and enforcing administrative action for violations (for example, purchasing palay below the established floor price).
One of the trigger reasons for the EO: farmers’ groups reported that farmgate prices of palay were as low as ₱8 per kg in some areas, and generally between ₱10–₱12 per kg—despite efforts like an import ban intended to lift prices.
The EO further authorizes national and local agencies to use public facilities—such as covered courts, multipurpose halls, gymnasiums and other government-owned structures—as temporary palay storage when commercial warehouses are not available, to help avoid post-harvest losses and maintain grain quality.
President Marcos emphasized that the lack of an equitable floor price exposed farmers to large risks and undermined their long-term productivity and livelihood—especially given increasing production costs and climate-driven risks. The government sees this measure not only as a protection for farmers, but also as part of ensuring national food security and stability in rice supply.