NFA ready to revive market presence once RTL is amended

The National Food Authority (NFA) on Saturday said it is prepared to revive its market presence once the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) is amended.

Interviewed on Super Radyo dzBB, NFA Administrator Larry Lacson said that once the measure amending the RTL becomes a law within this year, the network of NFA-accredited stores will be revived “early next year.”

Lacson said that there were about 60,000 accredited retailers of cheaper NFA rice before the RTL took effect in 2019.

Once the NFA-accredited stores are activated, he said that “magkakaron talaga ng dent sa merkado (they will make a dent in the market)."

The Rice Industry and Consumer Empowerment (RICE) Act, which aims to give the NFA back its powers to keep rice supply and prices stable while protecting both farmers and consumers, is still waiting for approval in the 20th Congress.

The measure suggests giving the NFA back important roles like registering and licensing people in the rice industry, inspecting warehouses and storage facilities, seizing hoarded rice and grains, managing buffer stocks, and regulating rice imports and exports.

The RTL reduced the NFA’s mandate to solely maintaining buffer stock of rice from local farmers for distribution during emergencies or calamities.

As part of its buffer-stocking mandate, Lacson said the grains agency is targeting the procurement of 790,000 metric tons of palay from local farmers this year. —VBL, GMA News