We have enough rice, says NFA

MANILA, Philippines - National Food Authority (NFA) administrator Jessup P. Navarro said yesterday that they have a sufficient inventory of rice amid the prospect of an early monsoon season and with barely six weeks before the lean months.

Navarro gave this assurance in the wake of typhoon Emong which destroyed agricultural crops in Pangasinan and in some parts of Northern Luzon.

According to Navarro, the government’s proactive rice importation and intensive palay procurement during the last main harvest and during the summer crop have beefed up the NFA’s rice inventory.

He said that as of the first week of May, the NFA had in its warehouses some 21.9 million bags of rice which will be sufficient for the next five months based on the agency’s average daily rice sales. The agency’s rice inventory is also capable of sustaining the entire country for 31 days based on the country’s daily requirement of 35,000 metric tons.

“Our stock inventory at present is more than double the required 15-day food security buffer,” Navarro assured.

He said the NFA has learned from last year’s rice supply aberration and has implemented several strategies to improve its grains inventory.

This includes increasing its domestic palay procurement.

The NFA is targeting to buy 18.5 million bags of palay this year, higher than the 13.2 million bags of palay it procured in 2008.

“We could still surpass NFA’s 2008 procurement which was the highest in 30 years,” Navarro said.