NFA allots P13.7 billion for palay buying

MANILA, Philippines - The National Food Authority (NFA) has earmarked P13.7 billion for palay procurement  during the last four months of this year’s main harvest, NFA Administrator Jessup P. Navarro said yesterday.

The NFA targets to buy 778,885 metric tons of palay, equivalent to 15.5 million bags, from this year’s main crop.

Navarro said that as of the first week of September, the NFA had a rice inventory of 1.2 million metric tons or 25.6 million bags.

This inventory is sufficient to last for 36 days based on the average daily requirement

of 706,000 bags.

Navarro has instructed all NFA regional offices to supplement permanent buying stations with mobile buying teams to optimize assistance to farmers particularly those in far flung areas in the country. The NFA currently operates a total of 441 palay procurement  stations nationwide.

The agency buys palay at P17 per kg from farmers. Additional incentives amounting to P 0.20 per kg each for drying and transport iS given to farmers who sell their produce to the agency.

A P0.30 per kg cooperative development incentive is also given to members of farmer  cooperatives for the post harvest facility build-up of their organization.

Navarro said the NFA has procured 3.35 million bags or 167,985 metric tons of palay during the summer crop. At the end of August, Navarro said, Southern Tagalog and the Bicol region vied for the top place among the agency’s most active field offices in terms of the volume of palay procured for the year at 1.1 billion bags each. NFA Central Luzon has bought 929,500 bags while Cagayan Valley had secured 530,000 bags of palay.

Central Mindanao, Navarro said, also made good in palay procurement having bought 518,626 bags.