THE National Food Authority (NFA) said on Wednesday that it is seeking an additional P9 billion to procure domestically grown rice that it plans to add to its grain reserves this year.
In a statement, the NFA said that the increased funding would allow it to accomplish its buffer stock goals in compliance with Republic Act (RA) No. 12708 or the Agricultural Tariffication Act.
“We were initially allocated a budget of P9 billion for buffer stocking this year, based on the nine-day requirement. But the additional six days will necessitate an extra P9 billion considering that our palay procurement price increased in 2024,” NFA Administrator Larry R. Lacson said.
RA 12708 raised the NFA minimum rice reserve level to 15 days’ demand from the previous nine days.
The law also allocates about P2 billion for NFA rice procurement from rice tariffs in excess of the P30 billion earmarked for the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund.
The NFA said that the national consumption of rice is projected to average 37,000 metric tons (MT) per day.
“The additional six days of reserve will require the NFA to procure approximately 300,000 MT of palay (unmilled rice) from farmers at an estimated price of P23 per kilo,” the agency said.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. said NFA procurement should be equivalent to up to 20% of domestic production or about 4 million MT. The NFA’s current procurement rate is 3% to 4% of the harvest.
“The NFA used to be a market maker — both a buyer and seller of rice. Now it is restricted to buffer stocking and buying rice from rice farmers,” Mr. Laurel added.
“We aim to restore its influence on palay pricing by purchasing more rice, helping to boost farmers’ profitability,” he said.
Additionally, the NFA Council had also approved a resolution allowing the NFA to sell rice stocks to local government units (LGUs) for disaster preparedness.
“The NFA should ideally release around 25,000 MT of rice every month to LGUs without jeopardizing the buffer stock needed to respond to emergencies, calamities, or a national food emergency declaration aimed at stabilizing rice supply and prices,” Mr. Lacson added.
Last week, Mr. Laurel said the Department of Agriculture is proposing to declare a food security emergency focused on rice to enable the NFA to offload 300,000 MT in rice stocks onto the market. — Adrian H. Halili