Piñol ponders how to trace where rice in the market comes from

The National Food Authority (NFA) needs to establish a mechanism that will determine whether the rice sold in the market are imported or local, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said on Thursday, a day after the NFA was put under his supervision as an attached agency.

“Napansin ko sa merkado, there was no way of validating saan galing ang bigas. Ano ba ‘to? Imported ba ‘to? Local ba ‘to?” Piñol told reporters during a press conference at the Bureau of Plant Industry in Manila. 

“So ang problema natin is traceability,” Piñol noted.

A racket practiced by unscrupulous traders is repacking cheaper imported rice and selling it as expensive fancy variety, the Agriculture chief said.

“Pinag-usapan namin ni Jason Aquino, NFA administrator, na dapat in future importations magi-impose tayo ng traceability system,” Piñol said.

"Ibig sabihin bago umalis ng Vietnam o Thailand ‘yung isang sako ng bigas na ‘yan dapat alam natin kung sino ang miller niyan sa Vietnam, saan galing ‘yan para pagdating sa Pilipinas mati-trace natin halimbawa kung mabaho ‘yung bigas, mati-trace natin kung saan galing ‘yung bigas na 'yon ... ” the Cabinet official noted.

“In the same manner, pagdating sa palengke, mati-trace natin kung ano ba ‘yan, local ba ‘yan, imported ba ‘yan,  because there are imported rice being presented in the market as local rice and priced higher than the imported rice,” he said.

The Cabinet official said putting up a traceability system is among the matters to be discussed by a technical working group, comprised of the Departments of Agriculture and of Trade and Industry and NFA.

Piñol also asked the NFA to put CCTVs in warehouses.

“Maglagay na nga tayo ng CCTV sa lahat ng warehosues ng NFA na merong mga stocks ng imported rice na ilalabas natin sa mga retailers para meron tayong recording kung sino ‘yung nag-withdraw gaano karami and then ‘yung truck na gagamitin lagyan natin ng  tracking devices para alam natin saan siya pupunta at pag nalihis ng landas ay malalaman natin na nag-divert ng bigas,” he said.

These measures will address the “image problem” of the NFA.

"Alam mo ano ang problema sa NFA? Image problem. Sabi ko we can only win back the trust of the people if we institute reforms. Let’s say for example maraming nagdududa na ang mga bigas ng NFA dina-divert pagdating sa mga bodega ... dina-divert at instead na ibigay sa mga retailers ay napupunta sa mga traders at sila ang nagko-convert para at repack nito,” Piñol said. —VDS, GMA News