Before leaving on Monday for a weeklong state visit to the Middle East, President Duterte denied that his officials are quarreling over the issue of rice importation. The President also directed the National Food Authority (NFA) to prioritize the purchase of paddy rice from farmers to beef up the food agency’s buffer stock during the calamity-prone lean months of July to September. That same day, NFA Administrator Jason Laureano Y. Aquino made a case for rice importation before the media.
Aquino said the food agency would find it difficult to comply with the mandate of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (Ledac) to maintain a rice inventory equivalent to 30 days of consumption during the lean months if the NFA would rely on its procurement program. The NFA could not prop up its buffer stock via local procurement because farmers are not selling their harvest to the food agency. According to Aquino, private traders are purchasing unmilled rice at P18 to P20 per kilogram (kg), higher than the food agency’s buying price of P17 per kg. This resulted in the failure of the NFA to reach its procurement target of 4.6 million bags of paddy rice for the first quarter.
The Department of Agriculture (DA), however, said the government should not rush into buying rice from farmers in Thailand and Vietnam. In a statement on Tuesday, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said the recommendation of Aquino to import 250,000 metric ton of rice would have to be reviewed and validated, given the DA’s expectations of a bumper harvest. Apart from his visual inspection of rice fields, Piñol said good weather and the absence of pest infestation would ensure that paddy-rice harvest before June 30 should be enough to hike the NFA’s rice supply. The DA is backed by the NFA Council (NFAC), led by Cabinet Secretary Leoncio B. Evasco Jr., who serves as its ex-officio chairman.
How long it would take for the DA and other concerned government agencies to complete its assessment of the rice supply-and-demand situation is anybody’s guess. What’s certain at this point is that time is no longer on the side of the government.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the farm-gate price of paddy rice had gone up to nearly P19 per kg in the last week of March, indicating that private traders are willing to pay a premium for the staple. While this is good for farmers because they’re earning more, the absence of enough buffer could embolden some unscrupulous traders to hoard rice and sell it a higher price, particularly in times of calamities. The buffer stock prepositioned by the NFA before July helps ensure that this would not happen.
Should the NFAC gives the go signal for rice importation, it could take anywhere from 30 to 60 days for shipments to arrive in the Philippines. If the President is really wary about importing rice, he can consider Piñol’s suggestion to allocate more funds for the NFA’s palay procurement. The NFA could use the money to increase its buying price so it could compete with private traders.
But the decision should be made soon, before the lean season kicks in.
Image credits: Jimbo Albano
26 comments
kung tintangkilik natin ang produkto natin i think we will not suffer in this kund of situation
her secretary must resign coz she doesent know how to run the NFA they are just buying craps buy means of importing rice
hindi kasi pinapahalagahan ang mga gawa ng ating sariling magsasaka take note na tayo ang nagturo sa kanila magtanim,. kaya dapt na produkto natina ng bilhin natin
ang gobyerno natin dpat matutuo muna sa kahalagahan kukng anong meron tayo
oras na para magising sakatotohanan kayong nsa NFA
dapt marunong tyo magtngkilik ng sariling atin!
tama naman si bong go ang nais lang niya kasi ay tangkilikin ang sariling atin ang mga gawa natin!
dapt kasi marunong makuntento ng sariling produkto!
ang nais lang naman ni bong go ehh yung unahin ang sariling bansa na produkto!
kasi naman dapt maniwala nlng kay bong go mabuti pa siya marunong magpahalaga ng sariling atin!
dapt kasi marunong tyo magtngkilik ng mga gawa natin or ng galing saatin mismo na product.
mabuti pa si bong go marunong magpahalaga ng mga gawa ng pinas!
magaling kasi si bong go magtrbho at dedicated siya sakanyang trabho.
ipagpa tuloy mo lang po Bong go ang mabuting gawain para mawala na ang mga corrupt sa ating bansa
wala kasing lugar sa mundo ang mga corrupt gaya nyo,wag mo ng subukan si digong evasco kung mahal mo pa ang trabaho mo.
walang mali ang hindi naitatama,sana maging silbing leksyon ito sa mga corrupt na opisyal na gumawa na ng tama.
hindi parin talaga mag wawagi ang mga sakim,ubusin na ang mga ganyan.
kala nyo kasi makakalusot kayo ky bong bo,ibahin nyo sya.Hindi naman sya dilawan na tulad nyo.
kaya hindi umaasenso ang pilipinas dahil sa mga taong sarili lang ang iniisip.tsk!
bakit hindi mo na lang sabihin evasco na sia ka rin na korap kaya takot kang ipakita ang lahat ng yan
manahimik ka na lang evasco at hindi mo kaya ang kakayahan ni bong go kaya wala ka rin magagawa
papaano pa ngayon nyan evasco ang akala mo kasi ikaw na ang magaling hindi kaya mas magaling pa saiyo si bong go
sangayon kami dyan saiyo bong go sa walang sawang mag tulong kay digong laban sa mga korap na opisyal
kasi nman dpat mag desisyon kayo ng tama kasi hindi rin yan lulusot kay bong go
ano pa daw ang iyong rason ngayon evasco buking ka na ni bong go, lagot ka na nyan
yan ang karapat dapat sa ating gobyerno ang tanging gusto ay maganda at maayos na pamamalakad.