NFA’s scaled-down procurement target a step in opposite direction

The recent decision of the National Food Authority to scale down its domestic palay procurement from an original target of 870,000 metric tons to only 270,000 metric tons would hurt the current administration’s thrust to achieve for the country, within the next two years, self-sufficiency in rice. It is a step in the opposite direction.

We, in Task Force Food Sovereignty, believe that one way to alleviate the lives of our aging farmers and their families is for government to increase its rice procurement at a price higher than what is set by traders. By doing so, it will encourage our local farmers to plant more rice, hence increasing productivity and ensuring food security.

The decision to scale down the procurement target means that farmers will have no recourse but to sell their rice to private traders. Selling to the NFA is regarded by many farmers as a better option than selling to private traders who offer lower prices. Low palay prices are already driving the next generation of rice farmers to seek opportunities outside of agriculture, a trend that, if it continues, could undermine the country’s food security in the future.

NFA’s average palay procurement over the last five years has only been about 289,000 MT. The latest plan to procure only 270,000 MT of palay will put the agency’s procurement rate at a miniscule 1.55 percent of this year’s projected palay production.

NFA’s historically low domestic rice procurement has limited its ability to intervene in the local rice market. Even the original target of 870,000 MT represents only 5 percent of total production. In order to influence the market, the NFA should double the previous procurement target to 10 percent of palay output.

If this administration is truly serious about achieving rice self-sufficiency, it needs to raise palay procurement to a level which will not only provide direct support to our farmers but also allow the NFA to effectively intervene in the market in terms of setting palay prices.

—EDUARDO MORA, co-convenor, Task Force Food Sovereignty, 87 Malakas St., Barangay Pinyahan, Quezon City