The National Food Authority (NFA) on Wednesday assured good national rice buffer stock and higher buying prices to protect the welfare of local farmers in the country.

In an ambush interview, NFA Administrator Larry Lacson said the rice buffer stock may now last up to 4.7 or almost five days.

“As of September 18, 2024, ang stocks natin nationwide kung iko-convert mo ito sa bigas, nasa (our stocks nationwide when you convert it to rice is equivalent to) 3.1 million bags or around 157,000 metric tons,” he said.

Lacson said the buying price of palay to local farmers remained high compared to the levels offered by some traders.

“Mayroon din kaming na-monitor na ganyang (We are monitoring that) prices, PHP16, PHP17 (per kilogram) bandang (in parts of) Region III. E kami naman, ang presyo naman namin sa (Our price in the) NFA is PHP21 to PHP23 iyong (the) fresh versus the PHP16 to PHP17 ng mga (of the) traders,” he added.

For the clean and dry palay, the NFA earlier set a buying price of PHP23/kg to PHP30/kg.

Lacson said the NFA’s pricing strategy helps protect farmers from traders who may take advantage of them.

“Dahil maganda ang presyo namin, nape-pressure din si trader na iangat ng kaunti para makakuha naman siya kasi iyon ang negosyo nila (Because of our good pricing, there’s a pressure to traders to increase their price so they can also buy because that is their business),” he said.

He, however, noted that buying price adjustment is still possible depending on the fluctuation of “market forces.”

He assured that the welfare of local farmers will still be prioritized especially during the peak harvest season.

“Posible talagang bumaba iyan. Pero hindi iyon ibababa ng NFA sa baba na alam natin masasaktan ang mga magsasaka (The price may possibly drop. But the NFA will not decrease it to a level that will hurt the farmers). Of course, binabalanse natin ang pricing kasi kailangan din natin for consumers and sa (we are balancing the price because we need it for our consumers and the) inflation,” Lacson said.

He said the NFA is coordinating with the DA and the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) to use their trucks for the transport of directly bought palay from farms.

For drying and milling facilities, he cited collaboration with local government units across the country. (PNA)