National Food Authority outlines priority in procurement policy

MANILA, Philippines - The National Food Authority (NFA) will give priority in its palay purchases to farmers shifting from inbred to certified seeds and to those switching from certified seeds to hybrid seeds.

This procurement policy was presented early this month by NFA administrator Jessup Navarro to Agriculture Secretary Arthur C. Yap during a recent management committee meeting.

Navarro said under the NFA’s procurement policy, priority will be given to farmers who will shift from inbred to certified seeds and to those switching from certified seeds to hybrid seeds.

“The NFA’s cluster farming program” will be among the priority beneficiaries of the agency’s procurement program this year,” he said.

“Yields from the cluster farming program will cover the bulk of the agency’s procurement volume in 2009 as production is expected at a minimum of 700,000 metric tons (MT) from an area covering at least 235,000 hectares,” Navarro said.

Details of the cluster farming program were taken up by NFA officials during a regional directors’ meeting in Palawan last April 2.

As a result of the NFA’s palay procurement last year, current rice inventories of the food agency reached 843,700 MT/cavans as of February which is 205.6 percent higher than the volume of stocks held by the NFA during the same period in 2008 and is enough supply for 26 days at the current national daily consumption rate of 35,000 MT/cavans.

Imported rice accounted for 47 percent of NFA stocks.

The Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) reported that total rice stocks as of Feb. 1, 2009 was estimated at 2.32 million MT, 26 percent higher than last year’s level.

The increase in total rice stocks was accounted by the NFA, but stocks held by households, the BAS said, actually dropped 3.4 percent.

Household rice stocks actually account for 47 percent of total rice stocks.

Commercial rice stocks account for just 17 percent of total rice stocks, but based on BAS records, commercial rice stocks have also registered a 12.7 percent decline.

The NFA is targeting to buy up to one million metric tons of palay from local producers this year.

This targeted purchase of palay  is 45 percent higher than last year’s total volume of palay procured by the NFA from farmers which amounted to 685,300 MT.

Last year’s procurement volume was the largest recorded by the NFA in the last 30 years and was almost 2,000 percent higher than the previous year’s volume of just 33,000 MT.