Rice traders offering low prices for palay to be tracked by NFA

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said it instructed the National Food Authority (NFA) to identify parts of the country where traders are purchasing palay (unmilled rice) from farmers at unusually low prices.

“This will allow the (NFA) to extend its procurement efforts during the next harvest season and prevent unscrupulous traders from exploiting farmers,” the DA said in a statement.

The NFA is seeking to boost its palay procurement for a government program to offer rice to vulnerable segments of society at a subsidized P20 per kilo.

Last week, 32 Kadiwa outlets, which sell produce at below-market rates because of government-supported direct farmer-to-market logistics, began roll offering P20 rice, following a pilot test in the Visayas that began on May 1.

The government intends to sustain the P20 rice program until the end of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s term in June 2028.

The DA said on Sunday the NFA is increasing its fleet of trucks and expanding storage and drying capacity to purchase more rice from farmers, especially in hard-to-reach areas.

It still has over P9.8 billion available for palay procurement this year — suggesting a spending capacity sufficient for 5 million 50-kilo bags of rice.

“The NFA has current inventory equivalent to 8 million bags of rice, with half of that stock bought during the first four months of the year,” the DA said.

It said Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. recently met with NFA’s regional managers and key officials to ensure the rice sold the P20-per-kilo program “meets quality standards.”

“…this subsidized rice program presents an opportunity for the agency to shift the long-standing perception that NFA rice is of poor quality — an opinion still shared by some critics and politicians,” the DA said.

Under the Rice Tariffication Law, the NFA no longer imports rice for its reserves. It is now limited to purchasing palay from farmers only. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza