The Philippines is on track to achieving food security, particularly in rice supply, with the country’s buffer stock now sufficient for over nine days, the National Food Authority (NFA) said Tuesday.

In a press briefing in Malacañang, NFA Administrator Larry Lacson said the Marcos administration’s food security targets are being met, citing significant improvements in the country’s rice reserves.

“Kung ang bigas ang ating pag-uusapan, ako masasabi ko na we are on track, in fact, in less than a year from one day to last buffer stock, ngayon po ay 9.36 na (If we’re talking about rice, I can say we are on track. In fact, in less than a year, we’ve increased our buffer stock from one day to now 9.36 days),” Lacson said.

“So, we are on track and we are continuously increasing our buffer stock for rice, as we all know, rice is the main gauge of food security,” he added.

Lacson also disclosed plans to expand the rice buffer stock to 15 days this year, in line with amendments to the Rice Tariffication Law.

Currently, the country holds 358,000 metric tons of rice, equivalent to 7.16 million bags — enough to feed the entire population for 9.36 days in case of emergency or supply disruption, according to the NFA chief.

As of March 31, the NFA has bought 2.2 million bags of palay from farmers nationwide, amounting to PHP2.6 billion.

To better support small farmers, the agency has also improved its fast lane program, raising the cap from 50 to 70 bags per transaction to accommodate more sellers. (PNA)