Marcos eyes silos for rice buffer stock
Published Jun 17, 2023 12:42 am
President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has ordered the Department of Agriculture (DA) to study a proposal to set up silos to ensure a 30-day buffer stock of rice and corn in the country.
*President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. (Malacañang photo)*
Marcos said this as he met members of the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) on agriculture in Malacañang on Thursday, June 15. In a statement, Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil said the President ordered DA Undersecretary Drusila Bayate and National Food Authority (NFA) Administrator Roderico Bioco to look into the feasibility and efficiency of building rice and corn stations modules using a mother-daughter or hub-and-spoke system. "We should really look into it because it's a successful program," Marcos reportedly said. The President noted that such stations and modules had been implemented in other countries like China, the United States of America, and India to ensure an adequate buffer stock of rice and other produce. Under the proposal, 30 mother stations will be built nationwide. Each would have 10 daughter station modules, which would be built in a 30-kilometer radius away from the main station. The stations will store rice and corn for buffer stocking for 30 days at any given time. Aileen Christel Ongkauko of La Filipina Uy Gongco Corp., who heads the PSAC Agriculture group, said the project might be subject to a Public-Private Partnership scheme as each mother station may cost P5.7 billion each or P170 billion for the entire project. Other recommendations proposed by the PSAC Agriculture group were giving long-term permits of 25 years for the Fishpond Lease Agreements (FLAs) and issuing a clear policy regarding delineation areas for commercial fishing. The group also suggested developing a national policy to guide and encourage local government units to provide long-term permits on exclusive areas for aquaculture operators for at least 10 years for new developments and five to seven years for existing farming areas.
*President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. (Malacañang photo)*
Marcos said this as he met members of the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) on agriculture in Malacañang on Thursday, June 15. In a statement, Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil said the President ordered DA Undersecretary Drusila Bayate and National Food Authority (NFA) Administrator Roderico Bioco to look into the feasibility and efficiency of building rice and corn stations modules using a mother-daughter or hub-and-spoke system. "We should really look into it because it's a successful program," Marcos reportedly said. The President noted that such stations and modules had been implemented in other countries like China, the United States of America, and India to ensure an adequate buffer stock of rice and other produce. Under the proposal, 30 mother stations will be built nationwide. Each would have 10 daughter station modules, which would be built in a 30-kilometer radius away from the main station. The stations will store rice and corn for buffer stocking for 30 days at any given time. Aileen Christel Ongkauko of La Filipina Uy Gongco Corp., who heads the PSAC Agriculture group, said the project might be subject to a Public-Private Partnership scheme as each mother station may cost P5.7 billion each or P170 billion for the entire project. Other recommendations proposed by the PSAC Agriculture group were giving long-term permits of 25 years for the Fishpond Lease Agreements (FLAs) and issuing a clear policy regarding delineation areas for commercial fishing. The group also suggested developing a national policy to guide and encourage local government units to provide long-term permits on exclusive areas for aquaculture operators for at least 10 years for new developments and five to seven years for existing farming areas.