6 million bags of NFA rice feared to go to waste

National

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) has urged legislators to allow the National Food Authority (NFA) to sell its rice stocks to the market to avoid wastage.

This, as the National Food Authority (NFA) reported that there’s a stock of rice of at least six million bags for quite some time that are feared to rot if not disposed of.

In a Philippine Star report, Agriculture Assistant Secretary and spokesman Arnel de Mesa said due to the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL), the NFA is only allowed to sell its stocks to the Office of the Civil Defense, Department of Social Welfare and Development as well the local government units.

“The NFA has at least six million bags (of rice). If only the NFA has the opportunity to sell rice, it can sell in the market at P30 (per kilo). It cannot do it as it will violate the law and will even be charged,” De Mesa said in the report.

Under RTL, NFA has no regulatory powers, which according to de Mesa “was too harsh to the point of it became powerless in intervening in the market.”

This is why during the House quinta committee hearing, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Laurel Jr. urged the lawmakers to carry a law that would bring back the mandates of the NFA before the RTL.

De Mesa said selling some of the reserved stocks through the P29 per kilo rice program of the government would help “but the volume is not that big.”

He emphasized that by keeping these stocks until the next harvest season, it would be difficult for NFA to procure rice from the farmers due to the large volume of stocks which could lead to a problem in the future.

He added that NFA cannot intervene in the market unless there’s a food emergency or there’s a food shortage and a spike in the retail price.(LAO)