THE National Food Authority (NFA) said it is seeking funding to allow it to hit its goals for procuring palay, or unmilled rice.
In a statement on Thursday, NFA acting Administrator Larry R. Lacson said it is seeking P9 billion to bring its palay procurement budget to P11 billion this year.
“NFA has been using left over funding of P8.7 billion from 2023 to buy palay from farmers,” it said.
In the first half, the NFA used P5.3 billion to purchase 175,000 metric tons (MT) of palay, equivalent to 3.5 million bags, from domestic farmers.
It hopes to have purchased up to 8.7 million bags of palay before the end of the year, equivalent to up 435,000 MT of palay.
“The NFA asked the Department of Budget and Management to release the funds for palay procurement so we can support farmers and stabilize prices during the harvest this wet season,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. said.
He added that the NFA will purchase palay from farmers at P21 and P23 per kilogram, depending on location and grading of the grain, in accordance with a decision in April approving variable pricing.
In June, the NFA Council approved a ceiling price for palay purchases of P30 per kilo, against the P23 per kilo previously. The floor price was lifted to P17 from P16 per kg.
Mr. Laurel said this measure makes it attractive for farmers to sell to the NFA as opposed to private traders, who were reportedly buying rice at P16-P17 a kilo in Nueva Ecija.
Republic Act 11203 or the Rice Tariffication Law of 2019, restricted the NFA to purchasing domestically harvested rice to build up its emergency reserves. — Adrian H. Halili
