4 days ago
DA urges next Congress to restore NFA's key powers
The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Tuesday said it will call on the upcoming 20th Congress, which would convene in late July, to restore key powers to the National Food Authority (NFA) in a bid to revitalize its financial and logistical capabilities and help improve rice farmers' profitability.
In a statement, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said that allowing the NFA to sell even its non-aging rice inventory would give the agency greater financial flexibility and free up warehouse space—enabling it to procure more palay from farmers at better prices.
The NFA is seeking to double its palay procurement budget to P18 billion for 2026, which would allow it to purchase up to 10% of the country's harvest and build up buffer stocks for disaster response and price stabilization.
'If the NFA is allowed to sell rice stocks promptly—especially through initiatives like President Marcos' P20 per kilo rice program—we can reinvest the funds to buy more palay at fairer prices," Tiu Laurel said.
As chairman of the NFA Council, the Agriculture chief said that with enhanced legislative authority, higher operational efficiency, and sustained increase in budget, the NFA could eventually buy up to 30% of the national harvest—enough to meaningfully influence farmgate prices and stabilize the market.
Tiu Laurel lamented that unscrupulous rice traders have taken advantage of the NFA's weakened mandate to shortchange farmers, sometimes offering to buy palay at below production cost.
He said the DA will also push for the restoration of the regulatory powers of the NFA to strengthen the its role in the rice sector by enabling it to help rein in excessive retail prices and protect consumers from market abuse.
The Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) has stripped the NFA's market intervention and regulatory powers, making it a buffer-stocking agency —limited to buying rice from local farmers for emergency use.
Before the RTL took effect in 2019 and its amended version this year, the NFA could import rice to augment supply, allowing it to maintain a healthier buffer stock and intervene when prices surged.
Under the amended RTL, the agency may only dispose of rice stocks through auction when the rice is aging (two to three months post-milling), during a declared food security emergency, or in the event of a calamity or emergency. —VAL, GMA Integrated News
