MANILA, Philippines - The National Food Authority (NFA) is stockpiling rice to prepare for possible calamities in the second half of the year, in the process keeping prices of the country’s main crop stable.
With the onset of the rainy season, the NFA is taking several measures to cushion the impact of the probable occurrence of La Niña which is predicted to start in the third quarter this year.
NFA administrator Jessup P. Navarro said the grains agency has strategically positioned its rice stocks nationwide – particularly in calamity-prone areas.
He said the NFA’s rice inventory currently stands at two million metric tons, equivalent to 56 percent of the total national inventory of 3.56 million metric tons.
Navarro assured the NFA stock is more than enough to meet the country’s requirement until the end of this year based on its operational distribution target.
In the meantime, Navarro said prices of rice in the market remain stable.
The retail price of regular milled rice (RMR) ranges from P30.65 to P31.18 per kilogram, and from P34.20 to P34.59 per kilogram for well-milled rice (WMR).
Navarro said he expects no increase in the price of rice during these lean months because of the pro-active stance made by the government to import the commodity to fill in the gap in rice production due to the El Niño phenomenon that affected the country early this year.
The NFA has contracted 2.5 million metric tons of rice this year, including 200 thousand tons allotted to the private sector. More than 2.2 million metric tons have already arrived in various disports and are now strategically stored in NFA warehouses nationwide.
Navarro has ordered field officials to check on the proper execution of memorandum of agreement (MOA) on disaster preparedness with the local government units (LGUs) from the provincial to the municipal level, especially in disaster-prone areas.
With the MOA in place, LGUs can purchase their rice requirements from NFA on credit terms for relief operations during times of calamities.
Action groups, both at the regional and provincial offices,have also been organized to oversee disaster operations. Monitoring teams will monitor rice prices, supply and stock movements.
During calamities, the operations center or command center will operate on a 24-hour basis to monitor the situation in the affected areas and provide uninterrupted services to relief agencies, LGUs and even non-government organizations.
NFA’s facilities and equipment used for disaster operations such as trucks, service vehicles, generators and fire extinguishers are also being readied.
The agency also has an existing MOA with relief agencies such as National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC), Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to avoid delays in the issuance of rice for relief operations in times of disasters, natural or man-made.