Bacolod City, Aug. 7 -- Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson has expressed support to the order of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to suspend rice importation for 60 days starting Sept. 1.

"I'm in favor because the President prioritized the farmers over the traders," he said in an interview Wednesday.

Lacson said the rice importation ban would protect the farmers amid reports of lower buying price of palay (unhusked rice) and would also allow the use of existing rice supply.

In the first half of 2025, Negros Occidental ranked first in Western Visayas in terms of average yield per hectare in rice production, at 3.94 metric tons (MT) per hectare.

For total rice production, Negros Occidental placed second at 192,509.94 MT of ...