NFA wants to fast-track rice importation

The National Food Authority (NFA) is now calling on the NFA Council to fasttrack the forthcoming rice importation to make sure that the agency won’t run out of buffer stock.

NFA Spokesperson Rex Estoperez said in a statement that NFA will ask the approval of the NFA Council, the highest policy making body of the state-run grains agency, to allow the early importation of additional rice.

“Because of the typhoons, we will propose to the NFA Council if they can allow us to import in advance. Many of our crops are damaged so we have to import earlier,” Estoperez said.

It was just two weeks ago when the Council adhered to the order of President Rodrigo Duterte and approved the importation of additional 250,000 metric tons (MT) of rice via an open tender scheme.

The move is supposed to be part of the government's response to tame inflation and non-stop increase in the price of commercial rice in the local market.

The new stock to be bought under this new importation program, however, is still due for arrival in November.

In the meantime, NFA has vowed to make sure that there will be enough rice to be distributed to the regions that were hardest hit by Ompong.

During the briefings in Tuguegarao City and Laoag City, President Rodrigo Duterte instructed Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol to ensure that there is sufficient NFA rice supply in the regions affected by Ompong.

This was just after Duterte formally placed NFA under Piñol’s supervision through a long delayed Executive Order (EO). The President also directed the NFA to fast-track the arrival of the remaining stocks to be sent to the typhoonaffected regions.

“The NFA has sufficient stocks in Luzon, with at least 840,000 bags in its warehouses. The lower inventories in regions 2 and 3 were augmented by transferring additional 12,000 bags additional rice stocks to Region 02,” Estoperez said.

Meanwhile, NFA Director Rocky Valdez said they are prioritizing issuances to Department of Social and Welfare Development (DSWD), local government units (LGUs) and other relief agencies, as well as their accredited retailers in areas affected by the typhoon, island municipalities, and far-flung areas to stabilize rice prices.

“The region has sufficient rice stocks and we are still awaiting our additional rice allocation of 155,000 bags from Subic. Unloading in Subic is obviously slowed down by inclement weather that is why we asked NFA-NCR to transfer an additional 50,000 bags to Region 02 while our rice allocation from Subic is not yet delivered,” Valdez said.

In a separate statement, NFA welcomed Duterte's issuance of EO 62 returning the agency back under the Department of Agriculture from the Office of the President.

EO 62, signed last September 17, 2018, repealed EO 1 issued in 2016 that placed NFA, along with 11 other agencies, under the supervision of the Cabinet Secretary at the Office of the President.

“The President has delivered a strong message that food security is his primordial concern and he wants a more unified and realistic approach to agricultural development and food sufficiency programs for the country by putting together all agencies involved in these concerns,” the NFA said.

The NFA believes that the agency’s transfer to DA will give the two agencies the ability to synchronize agricultural policies like timing of rice importation and market intervention as well as strengthen farmer assistance through NFA’s marketing channels, among others.