Lawmaker welcomes hike in NFA ‘palay’ buying price

“Buy from the Filipino farmers first and if you could not find sufficient stocks to be bought at the price approved by the NFA Council, that’s the time you source it through importation,” Piñol quoted Duterte as saying. (Photo Courtesy National Food Authority)

MANILA — A party-list lawmaker on Thursday lauded the order of President Rodrigo R. Duterte to increase the buying price of the National Food Authority (NFA) for “palay” (unhusked rice), saying this is a welcome development for local farmers.

Anakpawis Rep. Ariel Casilao said the President’s directive is in line with the long-time demand of farmer groups for a PHP20 per kilogram government farm gate price from the current price of PHP17.

“We urge for the immediate execution of that order, so that the farmers could benefit as early as possible,” Casilao said.

“This should push through to the comprehensive policy shift on agriculture. The President should sincerely prioritize local procurement than practically put the national food security on rice imports,” he said.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Agriculture Secretary Manuel Piñol revealed the planned price hike in a bid to boost NFA’s buffer stock, noting that President Duterte gave the directive during a Cabinet meeting on Monday.

“Buy from the Filipino farmers first and if you could not find sufficient stocks to be bought at the price approved by the NFA Council, that’s the time you source it through importation,” Piñol quoted Duterte as saying.