NFA Expects to Surpass Palay Procurement Target for First Half of 2024

The National Food Authority (NFA) announced on Friday that it is poised to exceed its palay procurement target for the first half of the year, following an increase in the buying price of the grain staple by the NFA Council.

In a news release, the NFA reported that it has already reached 97% of its target of 3.08 million bags (50 kilos each) of palay to be purchased from local farmers between January and June. Currently, the total procured bags stand at 2.93 million.

“With 2.93 million bags procured, we’re now at 97% of our buying target for the first half, with the whole month of June still ahead. Farmers in several provinces in Northern Luzon have yet to complete their harvest and have appealed to the NFA to continue our procurement efforts,” said NFA acting administrator Larry Lacson.

Increased Buying Price Boosts Procurement

Agriculture Secretary and NFA Council chairman Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. highlighted that the council’s decision to raise the procurement price has significantly bolstered the rice buffer stock, which is crucial with the onset of the typhoon season.

On April 11, the NFA Council increased the procurement price per kilogram of palay to a range of P23 to P30 for clean and dry palay, up from the previous P19 to P23. For fresh and wet palay, the price was raised to P17 to P23 from P16 to P19.

Prior to the price hike, the NFA had only procured 142,244 bags of palay, as private traders had increased their buying prices to secure rice supplies in anticipation of El Niño.

“We are pleased that our rice farmers, as envisioned by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., are benefiting financially from the higher procurement price,” said Tiu Laurel.

Fastlane Implementation and Budget Utilization

To further support local farmers, the NFA has introduced a fastlane to quickly service those selling no more than 50 bags of palay.

Acting NFA chief Lacson mentioned that the agency has utilized only half of its P9 billion procurement budget for the year, securing an additional 2.8 million bags of rice in the last six weeks. Moreover, the NFA has P8 billion remaining from last year’s budget to purchase more rice stocks.

“Our current challenge, albeit a pleasant one, is a shortage of warehouse space, particularly in Region II,” Lacson added. To address this, the NFA has initiated the milling of existing stocks to meet the Department of Social Work and Development’s requirement of 500,000 bags of rice.