NFA Council to discuss more competitive palay buying price -DA

The National Food Authority (NFA) Council is set to meet next week to discuss the possibility of adjusting its buying price of palay to make it competitive for local farmers.

At the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City, DA Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Arnel de Mesa said the NFA council was scheduled to meet on April 11, 2024.

“Paguusapan kung paano mas magiging competitive ang NFA sa pamimili ng palay,” added de Mesa.

(They will discuss how to make the NFA competitive in buying palay.)

In September 2023, the NFA Council upgraded its buying price of dry palay to P23 per kilo from P19 while its buying price for wet palay was raised to P19 from P16.

Compared to the latest PSA data as of February 2024, however, the NFA’s buying price of dry palay was lower than the average farmgate price nationwide of P25.21 per kilo.

Meanwhile, de Mesa reiterated Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr.’s statement that the NFA’s operations were unhampered despite the closure of several warehouses of the rice buffer stocking agency.

The DA spokesperson said around 97 NFA warehouses remained padlocked.

“There are more than 288 warehouses nationwide… other warehouses can accommodate those that are still closed,” de Mesa said.

Last month, the Agriculture Department ordered the temporary shutdown of some NFA warehouses amid the ongoing investigation of the Ombudsman into the alleged irregular sale of rice buffer stocks.

The DA said it was fast-tracking the reopening of warehouses to ensure the NFA’s continuous operations and palay procurement activities. — DVM, GMA Integrated News