LINGAYEN, Pangasinan – The Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (Sinag) sought the abolition of the National Food Authority (NFA) for its preference to import than purchase rice from Filipino farmers.
Rosendo So, Sinag chairman, said the latest showcase of the NFA’s skewed preference for imported rice was the ongoing negotiations with India for procurement of the staple.
“They’re not buying from our farmers anymore. They’re buying from Vietnam, India. They’re negotiating on rice. What’s this?” So said.
He fears that funds for buying local produce might be diverted to the procurement of rice from India.
“The NFA power is to buy palay isn’t it?” said So. “What are they doing negotiating with India to buy rice?”
So believes that they might use the money allocated to buy domestically produced palay to acquire imported rice again, referring to the agency’s P8.5-billion fund for procurement of rice.
He claimed that the NFA's tack seems to be contrary to the policy of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. who wants to ramp up domestic production in agriculture.
The Sinag chairman compared this to the past administration where the direction was to import while Marcos wants local production. "So a lot of Filipino farmers were encouraged to return to farming but then again the NFA's policy seems contrary to this,” So said.
So said he will push for the abolition of the NFA if it will not help the country's grain and farming industry by buying domestically produced rice.
He questioned the NFA's decision to source Philippine rice stocks from abroad when it could buy rice at a much lower price in the country's agricultural regions.
So cited Philippine Statistics Authority data showing the average buying price for a kilogram of domestically produced palay between P18.50 to P19.
The NFA can always look for prices lower than these in other regions, according to So.
“Buying rates in other areas are lower, so they should have bought there, right? They should have bought there already,” So said.
“If you are comparing price ranges, especially in Nueva Ecija, prices there are really high. But if you will check on Mindoro and other areas, prices there are lower,” he said.
The NFA justified importation by announcing it has only 46,000 metric tons of rice left in its inventory which is good for just 1.3 days.
But this is the fault of the NFA, So said, since it has not been buying locally produced rice to add to its stock.
“That is their fault, why did they not buy more palay in the first place? That is their mandate, which is to buy locally produced palay,” said So.
He recalled the NFA saying in a congressional hearing that it still has P8.5 billion left for rice procurement which was enough to buy palay at P19 per kilo.
So said the amount of palay that can be bought with P8.5 billion translates into 290,789 metric tons of rice which is more than enough to boost the country's buffer stock.
The Philippines’ daily consumption rate of rice is 35,000 metric tons.
"The NFA should have sufficient buffer stock if they bought palay ahead of time, the problem is they did not buy any,” So said.
The Sinag chair had earlier said that charges will be filed before the Office of the Ombudsman against officials of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and NFA who are part of a “mission” to exempt the Philippines from India’s rice export ban.