The price of palay being purchased by the NFA from the farmer’s produce
are now worth Php20.70 per kilo.
According to Assistant Manager Ed Camua of NFA-Bulacan, the increase in the
price of palay encourages more farmers to sell their produce to the NFA.
This is the first time that the agency (NFA) raised the local procurement
since 2008 at Php17 per kilo.
As a result, the NFA bought 800,000 sacks of palay, particularly in the towns
of San Rafael, San Ildefonso and San Miguel in Bulacan.
Aside from raising the price of palay, the NFA has also provided incentives to
farmers such as free dryers in its barns.
The NFA also provided free help in moving the palay from the farmer’s farm to the
NFA.
These methods are just one of the NFA strategies to further reduce the price of
rice in the markets.
This is far less than what President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has already mentioned
in his previous State of the Nation Address (SONA).
It is the NFA’s mandate to ensure that rice is stored in its stores or so-called
buffer stocks, to ensure that the price of rice is stable in the markets.
Aside from importing rice, the National Food Authority also buys rice from
farmers to ensure a sufficient supply of food in the country at any given time. (PIA)
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