ACHIEVEMENTS. National Food Authority (NFA) in Bicol Regional Manager Julie Llenaresas (center) listens to media questions during the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas at Villa Caceres in Naga City on Tuesday (June 18, 2024). NFA-Bicol, this early, has procured 367,000 bags of palay (unhusked rice), exceeding its 360,000 procurement target for 2024. (PNA photo by Connie Calipay)
NAGA CITY – The National Food Authority in Bicol Region (NFA-5) has surpassed its palay (unhusked rice) procurement target for 2024.
In Tuesday's Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas, NFA-Bicol Regional Manager Julie Llenaresas said they already achieved 101.95 percent of their target.
"We are very happy to announce that we already exceeded our 2024 palay procurement target. So for this year, our regional target is 360,000 bags but as early as June 13, we already hit the 367,000 bags," she said.
Llenaresas said the procured palay is sufficient for the region's buffer stock.
"We are glad that this is happening in NFA. For more than 10 years, we have not hit the target, but because of the new price scheme, this has been a big help to the farmers and has allowed them to maximize their profit," Llenaresas said in Filipino.
She said under the Marcos administration, higher buying prices of palay were imposed -- PHP17 to PHP23 per kilogram for fresh or wet palay (from the old PHP16 to PHP19 per kg), and PHP23 to PHP30 per kg. for clean and dry palay (formerly set at PHP19 to PHP23 per kg.).
She said that apart from the higher buying price set by the NFA, another factor contributing to the increased buying price of palay from farmers was the memorandum of agreement of the NFA and local government units (LGUs) under the Palay Marketing Assistance Program for Legislators and Local Government Units (PALLGU) program, which provides additional incentives.
Llenaresas said that after the harvest from May to July, farmers are expected to plant for the next cropping season, the September to November harvest season. (PNA)
