NFA raises mandate to keep, dispose grains in good condition

The National Food Authority said it had the mandate to dispose of its rice in good and consumable condition, adding that it responsibly released its supply by stretching to maximum shelf-life and minimizing the sale of residual volume to other accounts.

The NFA released the statement after Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel created a panel to look into allegations that certain NFA officials authorized the sale of milled rice stored in the agency’s warehouse for P25 per kilo without bidding and after purchasing the grains in palay form at P23 per kilo.

"NFA is mandated to keep and dispose of 99.9% stocks in good and consumable condition. The rice we are selling are all sold at the mandated selling price of P25/kg, although aging stocks need to be re-milled before they could be released to the consumers," the NFA said in its statement.

NFA administrator Rod Bioco said what the Department of Agriculture started was an inquiry and not a formal investigation.

Bioco said that under the NFA's guidelines, rice inventory that has been stored for three months after milling should be disposed of before it becomes unfit for human consumption.

After three months, the NFA is required to re-mill the rice which will result in additional processing, logistics, and recovery of loss costs to make the stocks acceptable to consumers. 

"To avoid these costs, NFA can opt to sell at the highest mandated price to qualified commercial buyers on as-is where-is, no-selection, and first-in-first-out bases (and first-come-first-serve basis, meaning the first buyer gets to buy the oldest stocks)," the NFA said.

"In the future, when NFA has modernized, the distressed selling could be avoided as the shelf life is longer and there is more time to allow the disposition of the stocks in the best condition to the preferred purpose—calamity relief," it added.

The NFA said it disposed of its inventory in a responsible manner.

"The current NFA management was able to responsibly dispose its rice stocks to government accounts by stretching to maximum shelf-life, minimizing the sale of residual volume to other accounts by implementing stricter guidelines and safeguards."

DA spokesperson Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said the investigation regarding the sale of NFA rice at a price disadvantageous to the government has started. 

He said the panel created has already started doing interviews and processing documents.

De Mesa said that the NFA was allowed to sell rice inventory following certain guidelines. The probe meant to look into how the sale was made.

"Ang role ng NFA ngayon ay bumili ng palay sa mga local producers at gagamitin 'yon for buffer stocking especially during calamities," De Mesa said.

"Ngayon, mandato rin sila kapag meron kasi period 'yan kung gaano katagal nag-stay sa kanila 'yung bigas, puede nila i-release 'yan. So 'yun 'yung under review, kung nasusunod yung tamang proseso," he added.

(The NFA's role is to buy unmilled rice from local producers and this will be used for buffer stocking, especially during calamities. Now, they also have the mandate to release the rice after a certain period. So that is under review if the correct process was followed.) —NB, GMA Integrated News