NFA poised to boost rice stockpile
The National Food Authority is set to purchase more palay from local farmers. (File photo by RAFFY LERMA / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines – The National Food Authority (NFA) is prepared to purchase more palay (unmilled rice) from local farmers—even after building the highest rice inventory in five years—to boost the government’s emergency relief efforts.
In a statement on Tuesday, the NFA said its inventory stood at 7.17 million 50-kilogram bags of milled rice as of April 11, equivalent to nine days’ worth of stock, attributing this to a higher buying price.
The NFA said this is its highest inventory level since the end of 2020. It is also higher than the buffer of 5.7 million bags recorded in 2024, 973,527 bags in 2023, 2.3 million bags in 2022 and 4.16 million bags in 2021.
READ: NFA readies P10B to expand warehouses, boost stocks
In April alone, the NFA obtained 1.1 million bags of milled rice.
Even so, NFA Administrator Larry Lacson expressed readiness to procure around 500,000 metric tons (MT) of palay, equivalent to 6.3 million bags.
“So far this year, we’ve spent only P2.6 billion of the P14.6 billion available to us for palay procurement. This includes unspent funds of P5.6 billion carried over from the 2024 budget,” Lacson said.
The NFA is also upgrading its storage infrastructure, including warehouses and handling facilities, to accommodate a higher stockpile of 555,000 MT of milled rice or 880,000 MT of palay that is good for 15 days.
In March, the agency unveiled a P10-billion modernization program aimed at boosting the country’s rice inventory and warehousing capacity for future emergencies.
The NFA is mandated by the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) to maintain an optimal level of national rice inventory to be distributed during emergency or calamity situations and sustain the government’s disaster relief efforts.
The amended RTL, signed last December, raised the mandated national rice buffer stock to 15 days from nine days previously. It should be sourced solely from domestic farmers.
The NFA is no longer allowed to sell rice directly to the public. However, the Department of Agriculture may release NFA rice stocks during food security emergency.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the current reserves would give vulnerable communities access to rice that may even be priced lower than the P29-per kilo subsidized rice—in line with President Marcos’ food security and affordability agenda.
“We continue to explore ways to better manage the NFA’s aging rice stocks, while ensuring that the most disadvantaged Filipinos receive the assistance they need,” Tiu Laurel said. INQ
