REGIONAL head of the National Food Authority (NFA-10) has appealed to local farmers in Northern Mindanao to sell their palay to the agency to help replenish the government’s rice buffer stock, in a press statement said Wednesday.
NFA regional director John Robert Hermano said the government does not even stop in coming up with measures to improve the lives of farmers amid coronavirus disease (COVID)-19 pandemic.
“NFA-10 continuously buys palay from farmers to provide a market that would give farmers a fair return on their investment,” said Hermano.
He said the NFA under the Department of Agriculture is buying “palay” at P19 a kilo with 14 percent moisture content.
The agency has never stopped buying palay from farmers, amid the restrictions implemented in the region due to the increasing number of COVID-19 cases, said Hermano.
He added that NFA-10’s procurement team is also intensifying its campaign to procure more palay from local farmers to beef up the agency’s buffer stock.
To ensure that personnel of NFA-10 is safe in the midst of this pandemic, buying stations strictly implemented the minimum health standards.
NFA is a member of the Inter Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).
Based on the country’s Palay crop calendar, 30 percent of the total annual production comes from the summer harvest between March and May, while 70 percent is obtained from the main harvest from October to December.
In 2019, NFA-10 was able to procure 506,203 bags of palay, which significantly assisted government agencies’ relief operations.
As of October 9, the palay inventory of NFA-10 is at 216,441 bags. (Recthie Tolinero/NFA10/PIA10)
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