GMA orders full-blast palay procurement for buffer stock

President Arroyo has instructed the National Food Authority to conduct full blast procurement of palay as buffer stocks for the year.

According to the President, the NFA should have enough stocks to be ready to respond at all times to any natural or man-made calamity which may hit the country this year. She citied the unexpected landslides and flashfloods in Southern Leyte and Caraga as examples of unexpected events that require quick response from the government, especially the NFA which is tasked with ensuring the nation’s food security.

Mrs. Arroyo said the country’s archipelagic layout requires coherent time, transport and supply strategies especially in the positioning of food stocks to avoid isolating areas hit by calamities. She also stated that it is important for the country to have enough stocks of rice to ensure that prices and supply of the staple food is stabilized in all parts of the country at all times.

NFA Administrator Arthur C. Yap said the agency has set aside a budget of P4 billion to procure some 475,000 metric tons (MT) or an equivalent of 9.5 million bags of palay this year.

Yap said that the bulk will come in the fourth quarter of the year, particularly in the month of November.

"The agency has to buy some 113,525 MT of palay in November from identified major producing areas nationwide," Yap added.

Meanwhile, the NFA has intensified the implementation of the agency’s Palay Negotiable Warehouse Receipt program (PNWRP)) where accredited farmers’ cooperatives could utilize NFA designated warehouses within the period of six months, free of charge.

The agency also continues its distribution of certified seeds to the farmer beneficiaries in identified areas to ensure the success of the quick-turn-around (QTA) program of the Department of Agriculture.

Some 530 designated buying stations nationwide have been operationalized by NFA to ensure that farmers could readily and conveniently sell their produce to the agency.

Aside from palay, NFA is also slated to procure some 22,390 MT of corn this year.

The public is encouraged to send in queries, suggestions or complaints to NFA concerning its operations via the agency’s text messaging system through cellphone no. 0917-6210927