NFA will need P38B to boost rice stock

The National Food Authority (NFA) would need P38 billion to follow President Duterte’s directive to increase its buffer stock to 60 days from its previous mandate of securing a 30-day buffer stock.

An NFA official said the agency would need five times its current budget to fulfill the gargantuan feat.

“That’s a conservative estimate, since we computed this with NFA’s current buying price for palay (unmilled rice) at P17 a kilo and with the option to import. Remember that the President wanted a hike in the agency’s palay buying price and prioritize local procurement than importation,” the official said.

For this year, the agency was given a budget of P7 billion for its procurement and importation program. Currently, much of its budget remains untapped since it was not able to compete with prices being offered by private traders to local farmers.

With the turnover of the NFA, the Philippine Coconut Authority and the Pesticide and Fertilizer Authority to the Department of Agriculture (DA) from the Office of the President, the DA is expected to get a higher budget next year.

For this year, DA was able to get a P60-billion budget.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol had said in a press briefing that it would take two years before the agency could achieve the order of the President.

The agriculture department is now working with the NFA to encourage local farmers to sell their palay to the government through incentives while waiting for shipments of imported rice to arrive by the latter part of May.