MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) is seeking P11 billion in funding from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) to increase local palay production and reduce post-harvest losses.
Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said the loan from Jica, ranging from $200 million to $500 million, would support the National Food Authority (NFA), as well as rice cooperatives and associations nationwide, through infrastructure projects.
De Mesa, also the DA’s spokesperson, said the agency may get the funding from Jica between 2026 and 2027, depending on subsequent discussions.
“These projects will help reduce post-harvest losses and will eventually increase production and income of our farmers,” he said in a Zoom interview on Wednesday.
Citing a study from the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization, losses in rice production range from 15 to 17 percent.
NFA expansion
Projects in the pipeline include a post-harvest facility for rice, dryers, mills, storage and silos at rice-producing areas that support the NFA’s operations nationwide.
”Especially now, they (the NFA) are expanding their procurement,” he said. “This is also part of the support for them. At the same time, this will help the NFA’s expansion plans in the future.”
Read: NFA readies P10B to expand warehouses, boost stocks
Under the amended Rice Tariffication Law (RTL), the NFA is mandated to maintain 15 days worth of rice supply to sustain the government’s disaster relief programs during natural or man-made calamities, and to address food security emergency situations. Rice should be sourced solely from farmers.
The NFA earlier said it had lined up a P10 billion modernization program to boost the national rice inventory and storage capacity, with focus on improving rice storage, building new rice mills and upgrading drying facilities.
These projects are expected to be operational by the end of next year, in time for the summer harvest of 2027. It will be funded by government budget allocations for 2024 and 2025.
The NFA is targeting to purchase 545,000 metric tons of palay to maintain a nine-day supply, and 880,000 MT to meet the new buffer stock requirement under the expanded RTL.
Read: NFA rice stock up 485% in January to further surge in February
De Mesa also said the Jica funding would support partner cooperatives and associations to improve the overall rice value chain.
Jica hired Sanyu Consultants to determine the viability of conducting such projects. De Mesa said the DA delegation in Japan had met with the consultants to flesh out the details and find the best way forward.