NFA: Red tape delays release of rice stocks to local gov’ts
The pullout of rice stocks from the National Food Authority (NFA) for distribution to local government units (LGUs) in a bid to lower rice prices has been slow mainly due to government requirements, NFA Administrator Larry Lacson said on Tuesday.
In an interview on the government television program “Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon,” Lacson urged LGUs to fast-track the process to let their constituents avail themselves of cheaper rice.
“This is a continuing activity and we keep on calling on LGUs for us to speed up [the disposal] so that our countrymen would already benefit from the rice,” he said.
Last month, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. declared a food security emergency amid the “extraordinary” rise in local rice prices despite lower global market costs and reduced tariffs on imported rice.
The declaration allowed the Department of Agriculture (DA) to direct the NFA, which is legally restricted from selling rice directly to the public, to release buffer stocks to government agencies and LGUs.
But according to Lacson, the distribution to LGUs has been slowed down by various factors, mainly the lack of funding to procure rice and a requirement for the fund disbursement to be authorized through a council resolution.
Far from objective
“If the question is how much has the NFA disposed [of], I would say this volume is not much,” he said, citing how San Juan City, with an allocation of 8,000 bags, has so far received only 1,000 bags.
“So, we’re still far from our objective of distributing cheaper rice nationwide,” Lacson added.
According to him, up to 70 LGUs have already signified their intent to participate in the rice distribution program.
“For now, [the cities of] Cotabato and Bacolod are coordinating with NFA, in addition to San Juan, Navotas and Camarines Sur,” he said.
Under the prevailing food security emergency, the NFA is selling rice to LGUs at P33 a kilo, which they may sell for P35.
“We also continue disposing [of] our aging stock of rice—those three months old and above—for P29 a kilo,” Lacson said.
He added that clearing out existing rice stocks was crucial to meeting the country’s new buffer stock levels, as mandated by the Rice Tariffication Law. Under the amended law, the NFA must maintain a buffer stock for 15 days. This year, it needs to procure 545,000 metric tons of palay to maintain a nine-day supply, with a total of 880,000 metric tons needed to meet the 15-day target.
