Manila, Feb. 20 -- The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Friday assured efforts to balance the affordability of agricultural goods in local markets alongside the profitability of Filipino farmers amid recent spikes in rice and onion prices.

"Our goal is to strike a balance to ensure farmers recover their costs, while consumers can access rice and onions at reasonable prices," DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said in a statement.

"The government is actively managing the situation to stabilize the market."

For rice, the DA chief said they are now accelerating the nationwide expansion of the PHP20 per kg. rice program under the "Benteng Bigas, Meron (BBM) Na" to ease supply pressures.

"This is a critical measure to balance productio...