KALIBO, Aklan – The current rice inventory in Aklan remains sufficient (as of Nov. 13), according to the National Food Authority (NFA) Aklan provincial office.
Stocks at NFA warehouses reached 85,864 bags of palay (unmilled rice) and 5,477 bags of rice for a combined 59,571 bags good for 13 days of daily consumption rate (DCR) of Aklanons.
NFA-Aklan Provincial Standards and Quality Assurance Officer Andy Panganiban said buffer stocks of NFA – including commercial rice and household stocks with 194,688 bags rice equivalent – is good for 44 days.
From January to November, the grains agency in Aklan intensified its palay procurement with a total of 152,403 bags of locally-produced palay.
NFA buys palay with a maximum 14 percent moisture content and minimum purity of 96 percent.
Panganiban said the average daily procurement this month alone is 2,761 bags of palay through mobile procurement and four rice buying stations around the province.
Rice buying stations are established especially in far-flung areas of Aklan to encourage local farmers to directly sell their harvest at a good price with NFA.
According to Panganiban, Western Visayas was second in the whole country with the highest volume of palay procurement from local farmers.
NFA buys clean and dry palay at a higher price at P19 per kilogram up by P15 to P16 a kilo offered by private rice dealers.
Republic Act No. 11203 or the Rice Tariffication Law mandates the NFA to focus on buffer stocking through aggressive palay procurement to help farmers cope with and ensure a reasonable price for their harvest./PN
