GOING THROUGH THE website of the Department of Agriculture, I read a press release that hyped the accomplishments of the National Food Authority– in terms of having the highest buffer stock in years, improved operations and reduced deficit despite challenges from a leadership change and ongoing Ombudsman investigation.
The PR said these achievements were realized under the able guidance of DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. and Administrator Larry Lacson, which to farmers and consumers seem insignificant as the services rendered to these sectors are way below expectations.
Right now, retail prices have not behaved despite all the pronouncements of palliatives being undertaken and DA-NFA continues to harp on the need to revert the NFA to its power and glory so it can do much more.
What helped it was the NFA Council’s decision raising the palay procurement price… helped attract more rice farmers to sell their produce to NFA, ergo the dramatic increase in buffer stocks.
MONOPOLISTIC DAYS
Ironically, reviewing NFA’s history showed that during its monopolistic days, NFA built numerous warehouses –that later became white elephants– as farmers refused to sell to the agency with all its rigorous requirements like unreasonable moisture content and the red tape before they get paid.
With all its trucks, the farmers still had to bring their palay via hired tricycles and jeeps at very stiff rates and they had to wait so long before their products are dried and they could finally get their checks.
Apart from restoring the glory of NFA, the DA is also lobbying for higher palay procurement budgets; purchasing more trucks and rehabilitating/building more warehouses. Hence, the polishing of its image so lawmakers won’t hesitate to give in to DA-NFA’s demands.
With the suspension of 139 erring NFA officials and employees by the Ombudsman, the NFA had to struggle competing with private rice traders in purchasing palay.
What helped it was the NFA Council’s decision raising the palay procurement price from a range of P16 to P23 per kilo to P17 to P30 per kilo. This decision, the PR said, helped attract more rice farmers to sell their produce to NFA, ergo the dramatic increase in buffer stocks. (Field interviews with farmers noted otherwise: they would rather sell to private traders who would pick up their fresh produce at their farms).
The NFA said that as of February, its palay inventory stood at 399,701 metric tons (nearly 8 million bags), sufficient to cover eight days of supply, a big leap from its previous one day of buffer stock before Lacson’s assumption.
MODERN SUPPLY CHAIN
It also undertook measures to modernize its supply chain, through the Masagana Agri-Food Infrastructure Modernization Program (MAFIM) — a multibillion-peso nationwide initiative to build new post-harvest facilities — to reduce annual wastage by P10 billion, benefiting both farmers and consumers.
NFA also avoided around P631 million expenses in 2024 through strategic measures, including the incorporation of the Buffer Stock Incentive (BSI) for farmers under the PRICERS program, by adopting a “less movement” policy for rice stocks, reducing logistics costs and saving an additional P172.3 million. These cost-cutting measures helped reduce NFA’s deficit to P3.753 billion in 2024 from P6.097 billion in 2023.
The agency said it strengthened its workforce, with 543 new appointees as part of an ongoing restructuring. These appointments was intended to improve employee morale, productivity, and overall efficiency.
It further streamlined operations through a fast-lane service for small farmers selling fewer than 50 bags of palay reduced waiting times and eliminated the re-bagging of 20 percent of its total palay procurement, which saved around P215.4 million in operational costs for the coming year. (To recall when NFA sold last year its “aging” stocks, it authorized the select private traders to rebag the aging stocks in commercial labels).
For 2025, NFA said it plans to buy 90 new trucks to be augmented by 150 trucks scheduled for 2026, to ensure that farmers in remote areas can sell their produce to NFA. (This has been a long-standing promise of NFA).
ADDRESSING CORRUPTION
Lacson also prioritized addressing corruption by ordering its legal office to file administrative and criminal cases against erring officials, to restore public trust, transparency and accountability.
Laurel stressed the need to restore NFA’s powers (including importation) so it can influence the rice market. “We simply cannot fight these battles with one hand tied behind our backs. We need to restore NFA’s powers to regulate rice retail and manage stocks more effectively.”
Despite the amendment of the Rice Tariffication Law, NFA is still restricted from importing grains to boost stocks or directly selling rice to the public,” Laurel maintained.
For 2025, the NFA vows to procure 880,000 metric tons of palay to meet the higher buffer stock requirement of 555,000 metric tons, or 15 days of national rice consumption for emergencies.
