DA to upgrade NFA facilities

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) is set to upgrade the National Food Authority’s (NFA) buying stations and warehouses nationwide to boost the agency’s efforts in raising the country’s rice reserves.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol on Wednesday said this will be made possible by allocating funds needed for NFA’s establishment of grains dryers in all its buying stations and repair of existing warehouses.

“Each buying station should have grains dryers which farmers could use and I specified the PhilRice(Philippine Rice Research Institute)- designed bio-mass dryers,” Piñol said.

“Dilapidated warehouses should also be upgraded to prepare the agency for its new role of buffer stocking for the country’s rice reserves,” he added.

NFA Acting Administrator Tomas Escarez earlier said the NFA is optimistic in improving its procurement performance during the peak of the harvest season this month.

He said the grains agency has currently 279 buying stations which are fully operational while there are about 15,000 rice warehouses across the country.

For 2019, the NFA will prioritize local palay (unhusked rice) procurement among all its duties, which will be made possible by the passage of the rice tariffication bill. The bill will stop the grains agency from importing rice to boost buffer stocks and stabilize rice prices in the market.

The rice tariffication bill will lift the quantitative restriction (QR) on rice importation in keeping with its commitment to the World Trade Organization ( WTO) which expired last June 30, 2017.

To assist the local rice industry, the bill will also provide P10 billion for the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund or Rice Fund. This, along with the excess rice tariff revenues, shall be released to the DA and used for providing direct financial assistance to rice farmers as compensation for the projected reduction or loss of farm income arising from the tariffication.

Sen. Cynthia Villar, who also heads the senate committee on agriculture and food, said the package of support for farmers included in the rice tariffication bill would provide “preferential attention” to rice farmers, cooperatives and associations.

Specifically, the P10-billion fund shall be allotted to the provision of farm machinery and equipment, seed production, and training on rice farming, among others.

The NFA has allocated P7 billion for its local palay procurement in 2019.

EIRERENE JAIREE GOMEZ