The National Food Authority (NFA) on Saturday said its buying price for palay will remain competitive to ensure local farmers will maximize their earnings. “Unless revised by the NFA Council, our ceiling price for clean and dry palay will stay at P30 a kilo,” said NFA administrator Larry Lacson.
In mid-April this year, the NFA Council raised the buying price of palay to a range of P17-P30 per kilo from P16-P23 per kilo to help the agency compete with private traders.
Lacson and some members of the NFA Council were in Davao Oriental to conduct a dialogue with farmers and NFA employees.
NFA officials also inspected the facilities and rice inventory.
The NFA is required by the Rica Tarification Law to maintain a national buffer stock for rice to cover requirements of the staple food in case of emergencies.
During the dialogue, the NFA said farmers reported higher agricultural productivity and substantial income increases due to governmental support like subsidies for machinery and seeds, and reduced labor costs due to mechanization.
At the end of the first half, the grains agency had procured a record 3.5 million tons of palay.
Lacson, acknowledging the logistical challenges faced by farmers’ cooperatives, announced the agency’s plans to procure vehicles to transport stocks directly from farms to warehouses.
The initiative would be part of the agency’s proposed 2025 budget.
Lacson also bared details of NFA’s modernization plan, including the procurement of post harvest facilities like dryers and rice mills aimed at enhancing rice processing capacity and efficiency.
The NFA chief said the agency will continue its close cooperation with farmers and other industry stakeholders to effectively respond to challenges and improve agricultural practices and livelihoods across the country. —VAL, GMA Integrated News
