MANILA – The National Food Authority (NFA) will procure more palay (unhusked rice) from local farmers in 2025 as the government hikes its buffer stock target from nine days to 15 days.
A buffer stock refers to the optimal level of rice inventory that shall be maintained at any given time to be used for emergencies and to sustain the government’s disaster relief programs during calamities.
In a statement Tuesday, NFA Administrator Larry Lacson expressed confidence that they would be able to meet their nationwide procurement goals despite expected challenges.
“I believe that with the help of everyone, kayang-kaya natin ito. Kahit maraming challenges, panatag ang NFA (We can do this. Despite the many challenges, the NFA is confident for) this year and moving forward,” he said.
Among the challenges he cited include the release of procured NFA rice stocks, the warehouse capacity for the increased buffer stock, and the approved budget under the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA).
For 2024, Lacson said the NFA was able to procure 95 percent of its 300,000 metric tons (MT) target procurement.
“Only after the NFA issued its rice stocks from its warehouses could the agency procure from the local farmers,” he said.
Lacson said he has ordered the organization of warehouses to accommodate the incoming rice stocks.
“We have limited releases to the DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development), and now that the buffer stock is increased to fifteen days, there is a bigger challenge in terms of warehousing,” Lacson said.
“With this, I already instructed the operations team to hand in the full quantity capacity of our warehouses to accommodate the 15-day buffer stock,” he added, citing discussions with the Governance Commission for Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations.
In terms of budget, Lacson expressed confidence on the support coming from the Office of the President (OP).
“The broader the challenge, the greater is the avenue that we could learn and accomplish more. The NFA family could hurdle the challenges, especially since the Malacañang supports NFA’s plan of action,” he said.
For 2025, the NFA was granted an allocation of PHP9 billion, the same as last year’s budget. (PNA)