Agriculture Department eyes return of NFA rice but only for 4Ps beneficiaries

To make rice more affordable, the Department of Agriculture (DA) is looking to again make NFA rice available in the market but only for beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps.

According to Bernadette Reyes's Monday report on 24 Oras, the DA’s price monitoring found that the average retail price of regular milled rice was P37 per kilogram while well-milled rice was P41 per kilogram.

Agriculture Secretary William Dar said their plan to bring back NFA rice would not need an amendment to the Rice Tariffication Law.

The law, which allows unlimited importation of rice as long as private sector traders secure a phytosanitary permit and pay a 35-percent tariff for shipments from neighbors in Southeast Asia, took effect in March 2019.

The state subsidized NFA rice was no longer available in the market after August 2019.

"Prino-procure ng NFA, ang good for 30 days na kung 'yun ay magagawa. At ito na 'yung i-rollover at ibebenta nila through the NFA retailers," Dar said.

"Dapat ibalik 'yun, ang NFA retailers’ group,  para magbenta sila ng P27... [But] executive order na lang yun. It needs just additional budget," he added. "Directed dapat ang NFA rice na P27, or mahigit P28 or P29, mura pa rin yun, sa mga 4Ps…hindi na pwedeng pampubliko."

Aside from bringing NFA rice back to the market, the DA was also looking to raise the country’s rice buffer stock from the current seven days.

The price of palay would meanwhile be raised to P20 from the current P19 per kilo.

"Another way to have cheaper rice in the market is to lengthen or have more buffer stocking by the country. Ang NFA 30 days buffer stocking, ang provincial governments another 30 days," Dar pointed out.

"Sumatotal, we have 60 days buffer stocking strategy and the procurement of palay at P20, hindi na babaratin ng mga traders ang mga rice producers," he said. — Mel Matthew Doctor/DVM, GMA News