Under NFA reforms
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) is seeking a new system that would make rice importers share responsibility with the National Food Authority (NFA) in maintaining the country’s buffer stock as part of proposed amendments to the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL).
In a statement yesterday, the DA said the plan would require accredited traders to hold part of the national rice reserve alongside the NFA.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. told senators last week that the arrangement is meant to strengthen food security without restoring the state’s old import monopoly.
“They have to have skin in the game. If we aim to have a 20-day rice buffer stock, we’re thinking of a 50-50 split between the NFA and the private sector,” Tiu Laurel said.
Under the proposal, rice imports will follow a controlled model similar to the Sugar Regulatory Administration’s program, where only qualified traders are given allocations.
Importers will also be required to procure palay from farmers at fair prices for buffer stocking.
“With the private sector partly doing the buffer stocking, sourcing from local rice farmers, it will also reduce the cost of buffer stocking for government,” the DA chief said.
At present, the DA said the NFA can purchase only around five percent of national palay output, largely for disaster relief, because of limited warehousing and drying facilities.
Tiu Laurel said the DA must regain some control to prevent oversupply, which has pushed farmgate prices down.
“Rice is a commodity imbued with too much public interest to leave entirely to the private sector,” he said.
Before the RTL was signed in 2019, the NFA held near-total control of rice imports under its 1972 charter.
It directly brought in shipments and determined which private traders could import, a gatekeeping role often criticized for inefficiency and corruption.
The RTL dismantled this monopoly, opening up rice imports to the private sector and limiting NFA’s mandate to buffer stocking and emergency supply.
Tariff collections were redirected to the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund to support farmers through mechanization, seed development, credit, and extension services.
But farmer groups have since complained of depressed palay prices, while consumers continue to grapple with high retail costs.
This time, the DA said its proposal aims to strike a balance between affordable rice for consumers and better income for local producers. — Christine Boton