The government is rolling out the one-tonner bagging system for palay (unmilled rice) as part of a modernization effort to reduce storage costs and ultimately improve the country’s buffer stocking.

The National Food Authority (NFA) announced on Friday, Oct. 17, that it will start using flexible intermediate bulk containers, also known as toon bags, to promote efficiency across its nationwide warehouses.

The tonner bags are made of high-strength woven polypropylene or polyethylene, designed to carry up to one ton of rice, or the equivalent of 20 50-kilogram (kg) sacks.

The NFA will first pilot the system to validate the “perceived” operational benefits of tonner bags under real conditions through time-and-motion and process comparisons against traditional sacks.

Among the benefits that the agency will validate are better space utilization, improved loading and unloading efficiency, and cost-effectiveness, among others.

The tonner bags will be piloted in Nueva Ecija, Occidental Mindoro, and Davao del Sur.

Speaking at the launch in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, NFA Administrator Larry Lacson said initial computations show the agency could save at least ₱1.1 million in the province’s warehouse alone—or around ₱3.3 million across the three pilot sites through the new bagging system.

Lacson estimates that tonner bags could boost warehouses’ capacity by up to 30 percent, giving the agency more space to buy rice from local farmers.

The NFA has been urging the government to grant it the authority to rent private warehouses to expand storage capacity, as it continues to struggle to meet the strong demand from local farmers.

At full capacity, a typical NFA warehouse with a maximum of eight piles can only store up to 55,440 bags of 50-kg sacks.

Further, Lacson said that tonner bags are airtight and can better preserve grain quality, as they provide strong protection against moisture, heat, insects, and rodents.

Under the pilot test, the tonner bags are transported and stacked with the use of forklifts.

Once the NFA fully implements the new system, it will begin using a gantry or overhead crane to transport the tonner bags.

Lacson said the rice grains agency is aiming to procure three gantries next year, although he noted that this has not yet been earmarked in its proposed modernization funding.

The NFA aims to secure a budget of between ₱35 billion and ₱40 billion until 2028 for its modernization program. Currently, the program only covers dryers, rice mills, and warehouse upgrades, among others.

Lacson said his long-term vision is that the NFA’s warehouses, which span over 300 across the country, will utilize the one-tonner bagging system except in cases where they already have a silo.

By next year, the NFA is set to introduce silos into its facilities to further enhance capacity. Silos can carry a capacity of up to 80,000 50-kg sacks.

“We don't stop in finding ways on how to efficiently use our warehouses because what our farmers really need is a full warehouse,” said Lacson.