The National Food Authority (NFA) will soon begin purchasing storm-damaged palay (unmilled rice), at a lower rate than its regular buying price, to help offset the losses incurred by farmers from recent typhoons.

NFA Administrator Larry Lacson said this emergency procurement will be embodied in an executive order (EO) that will be issued by President Marcos.

Lacson said the proposed EO is still under review by a technical working group within Malacañang to ensure its provisions are aligned with existing laws.

He noted that, based on the latest update, the measure is expected to be issued within the month.

“I said it should be within the month because if it takes longer, we might get overtaken by other events again, and we won’t be able to catch up anymore,” Lacson said in a chance interview.

“That's what we are waiting for. We want to buy from those who were affected so that we can at least help. But we still don't have the funds since it hasn't been signed yet,” he added.

Lacson bared last month that the NFA will secure at least ₱3 billion from the EO for the emergency purchase of palay, as well as to rent warehouses and logistics.

With its inferior quality, he said the agency will purchase the storm-damaged palay at around ₱14 per kilo for the wet variety, while ₱20 per kilo for dry.

However, this is still not definitive as prices could go lower depending on the extent of the damage.

In comparison, the NFA buys dry palay at ₱23 per kilo and wet palay for ₱17 per kilo.

Subject to its assessed quality, the purchased rice will not be used for the NFA’s buffer stocking. Instead, the palay will immediately be dried, milled, and disposed of.

Based on the rice’s quality, Lacson said the rice could be auctioned off, used for relief operations, or sold under the government’s ₱20-per-kilo rice program.

Following the most recent string of typhoons, the DA reported that the damage to the country’s agriculture and fisheries sector has reached ₱7.71 billion, affecting over 260,000 farmers.

The rice sector suffered the bulk of the damage, with losses reaching ₱4.87 billion.

As revealed by Lacson last month, the proposed EO will also cover a province-specific floor price mechanism that would set palay prices based on local production costs.

This was in response to the reported decline in palay prices to as low as ₱6 per kilo with the onset of the peak harvest season, further worsened by adverse weather conditions.

The planned floor price is expected to be within the range of the current purchasing price of the NFA.