NFA eyes limiting palay purchase to 100 bags per farmer

The National Food Authority (NFA) said Saturday that it is eyeing to limit its purchase of unmilled rice or palay from farmers to 100 bags per planting season.

"We have been trying to analyze the situation na paano natin mapaparami ang mga magsasaka na mas lalo nating maseserbisyuhan (on how will we provide better service to more farmers)," NFA Administrator Larry Lacon said in a Dobol B TV interview.

Lacson said that in the current setup, some local farmers own more than one hectare of land and can sell up to more than 100 bags of rice.

"Sabi namin, why don't we limit it? Gawin nating 100. So that, imbes na isang magsasaka lang ang makinabang, dalawa o tatlo ang makikinabang," he said.

(Why don't we limit it? Let's make it 100 so that instead of just one farmer benefiting, two or three will benefit.)

The NFA has also issued a directive for a more transparent palay procurement, where tables will be set up in NFA warehouses so farmers can check the transaction.

The NFA earlier called on lawmakers to support a proposed bill that will restore its regulatory and market intervention functions—powers that agency officials say are critical to stabilizing rice prices, protecting farmers, and securing the nation’s food supply.

Lacson said that bringing back these powers will enable the agency to perform its original mandate of keeping rice prices within reach of both producers and consumers.

Under the current setup, Lacson explained, the NFA has limited ability to release rice from its stocks in a timely manner to offset price surges in the market. With market intervention restored, the agency would be able to act more decisively. —Jamil Santos/ VAL, GMA Integrated News