Capiz NFA exceeds palay buying target

By: Jemin B. Guillermo

ROXAS CITY, Capiz – More farmers opted to sell their palay produce to the National Food Authority (NFA).

This after the NFA here has surpassed its palay procurement target by more than 1,400-percent, NFA Capiz Information Officer Mary Christie Hari-on said.

“We were able to buy a total of 56,233 bags of clean and dry palay from local farmers last month, September 2019, which was way above the 4,000 bags target for procurement for the month,” she added.

Harion said that as of September 30, 2019, NFA Capiz now has a total inventory of 80,751 bags of palay in its warehouses.

For October, which is the peak of the harvest season, the food agency here targets to buy 90,000 bags of clean and dry palay.

The NFA will buy at P19.00 per kilogram clean and dry palay having 14-percent moisture content and 95 to 100 percent purity.

On the other hand, NFA Capiz Officer-In-Charge Herrielle Jumagbas urged farmers to sell their palay produce to the food agency noting that the farm gate price of palay only ranges from P10.00 to P12.00 per kilogram.

“It would be better for NFA to buy more than its target as President Duterte orders the food agency to buy palay produce of rice farmers,” Jumagbas said, citing that that new NFA mandate is to buy palay for buffer stock in preparation for calamities and emergencies.

She said that their warehouses in Bolo, Roxas City and in Sta. Cruz in Dumalag and Mangoso in Sigma towns are the agency’s buying stations in Capiz.

Jumagbas also said that should there be request, they are also willing to deploy their mobile procurement team. (PIA-Capiz)