Additional mobile buying teams will be deployed in palay production areas to augment the agency’s 500 teams currently serving remote areas. "These procurement teams have also been ordered to go all-out in buying the produce of the farmers even beyond regular office hours to be able to cater to more farmers," Yap said.
Reacting to a report of an alleged slump in the price of palay in some areas in the country, Yap noted that based on latest monitoring reports from the field offices, palay prices have been effectively pushed by the agency’s heightened and early palay buying operations.
He said the agency recognizes the fact that at times there are isolated cases when farmers are unable to avail themselves of the various services being offered by the NFA. "It is sad that these few cases are used by some quarters to taint the over-all performance of the agency which is modestly fair considering the very limited financial support it receives from the government for its operations," he added.
Yap said farmer organizations that wish to avail of the procurement services of the NFA but are constrained by their limited resources are advised to coordinate with the nearest office of the agency through TXT-NFA, cellphone number 09176210927, for the local offices to immediately dispatch mobile procurement teams.
Disputing the alleged low prices, Yap said that based on the NFA’s monitoring and survey on farmers, farmers’ cooperatives and private grains traders, the average buying price for clean and dry palay in Nueva Ecija is P9.05 per kg, a level that approximates the NFA’s buying price of P9 per kg, plus a total of P0.50 in incentives. In Palawan, clean and dry palay fetches a price ranging from P7.80 to P8.20 per kg.
He explained that palay prices vary depending on the grains’ moisture content.
"Ex-thresher palay contains a higher moisture content and is prone to fermentation unless immediately dried. It naturally commands a lower price because even private grain traders will have to incorporate in their buying price the cost of drying and the expected grains shrinkage," Yap said.