NFA-Pangasinan hits 70% of 2024 rice buffer stock goal

MALASIQUI, Pangasinan – The National Food Authority (NFA) in Pangasinan has achieved 70 percent of its target 336,000 bags of rice buffer stock this year due to good harvest and continued procurement.

In a phone interview on Friday, NFA-Eastern Pangasinan assistant manager Frederick Dulay said they have bought 232,128 50-kilo bags of palay (unhusked rice) from farmers as of June 13, already good for the whole year.

“Even with the threat of the La Niña phenomenon, we assure the public, our stakeholders, that we have enough supply of rice in case of calamities or disasters,” he said.

He attributed the favorable rice production to limited chance of rain since the latter part of 2023 due to the El Niño phenomenon, the negative impact of which was addressed by interventions such as advising the farmers to plant early, distribution of water pumps for irrigations and provision of solar-powered irrigation systems for areas not reached by existing irrigation lines.

Authorities said Ilocos Region registered only one percent damage to crops from the dry spell.

Dulay said the palay procurement is still ongoing at PHP29 to PHP30 per kilo for clean and dry palay and PHP22 for wet palay.

He said the procurement price approved by the NFA Council this year is higher than last year’s PHP19 plus PHP4 buffer stock incentive per kilo for dry palay and PHP17 plus PHP4 per kilo for wet play.

The procurement price this year is inclusive of the buffer stock incentive, which used to be separate in the past, he said.

NFA-Pangasinan failed to meet its target last year when it procured only 20,805 bags, way below its 485,500 bags target.

Dulay said traders bought supplies from farmers for around PHP30 per kilo for dry palay, higher than the PHP19 to PHP23 per kilo price set by the NFA. (PNA)