RP to get 60,000-MT rice valued at P1.2B under US PL 480 scheme

The country’s rice stocks will be boosted by the approval of a $20-million (P1.2 billion) rice grant under the United States Public Law 480 program.

National Food Authority (NFA) Administrator Gregorio Tan Jr. said the grant is good for 60,000 metric tons (MT) of rice, a slight increase from the 57,000-MT rice grant in 2004.

This year’s PL 480 program was signed yesterday by representatives of the United States Department of Agriculture, the NFA and the Department of Finance.

Tan said the Philippine government could request the US for another $20 million grant.

"We have a window for an additional grant because one of the recipient countries, Jordan, did not avail of their loan for 2005," he said.

Under the US PL 480 program, developing countries like the Philippines are given an annual allocation, usually in the form of a commodity loan that is monetized by agencies attached to the Department of Agriculture (DA) such as the NFA and the National Agricultural and Fishery Council (NAFC).

The proceeds of these commodity assistance loans are channeled to the National Treasury then re-directed to bankroll critical agricultural projects identified under the Agricultural and Fisheries Modernization Act and for budgetary support for the department.

For grains such as rice and corn, the NFA is usually tasked to monetize the loan. The PL 480 is crucial not only to the Philippines’ various food production and food security programs but also to US farmers because this assures them of a market for their excess produce.

Recipient countries like the Philippines on the other hand, get concessional loans and preferential pricing for America’s surplus farm produce exported to its strongest political and economic allies in the Third World.