ILOILO City – Western Visayas has enough buffer stock of rice ready for any calamity, including dry spell, the National Food Authority (NFA) said.
NFA regional manager Dianne A. Silva said almost 100,000 sacks of palay and nearly 37,000 bags of rice are stored in NFA warehouses across the region.
“Bastante pa kita asta mag-abot ang next harvest season, which is expected nga ma-start second or third week of August,” said Silva, adding that these could last by the end of the year if not accounting for any possible disaster.
As local farmers begin harvesting again this second week of August until November, the NFA will buy more palay to add to its buffer stock.
NFA buys palay from local farmers at P19 per kilogram.
Meanwhile, some local government units (LGUs) in the region provide additional funds to the agency through the Palay Marketing Assistance Program for Legislators and Local Government Units (PALLGU) so that their respective farmers get P21 to P22 per kilogram.
“Ang aton buying price is P19 per kilo, clean and dry, but with the help of LGUs with PALLGU, nagadugang na sila sang premium nga P1 or P2 per kilo, so mataas-taas ang buying price,” explained Silva.
Western Visayas is also the third-largest palay-procuring and -producing region in the country.
From January to June this year, P150,000 bags of palay were procured by the NFA-6 from local farmers. Aside from this, about 80,000 bags of palay remained from the 2022 inventory.
With these, Western Visayas could supply rice to other regions, just like in May or June of this year, when NFA-6 sent 30,000 bags of rice to Region 8 and 20,000 bags to the National Capital Region last week.
Preparations for El Niño
According to Silva, they have already met multiple times with the Department of Agriculture (DA) Region 6 to discuss how to address the challenges the forecasted El Niño phenomenon could bring this quarter and even more in the fourth quarter of this year until the first quarter of 2024.
Although the forecast is in place, farmers in the region are pushing through with planting since rains continue to fall so far and harvest season is in the coming months, added Silva.
The NFA-6 will aggressively procure palay this second semester and aims to exceed its record of 140,000 bags procured from January to June this year.
NFA-6 will also coordinate with farmer organizations or cooperatives that are about to harvest in the coming months so that their palay can be brought to different buying stations of the agency.
Facilities and warehouses, such as mechanical dryers, other drying facilities, and a rice mill, were being readied to accommodate either wet or dry rice harvests.
In areas far from buying stations, NFA-6 employs mobile procurement.
“Kon may ara nga harvest sa isa ka area kag malayo-layo sia sa warehouses or buying stations, puede kami maka-stabilize sang buying stations and puede kita maka mobile procurement,” said Silva.
Reminders for consumers
Despite a sufficient buffer stock of rice, the NFA-6 urged Ilonggos to become responsible consumers, such as by cooking rice just enough for consumption.
“Kay kon kis-a sobra-sobra, madamo sang mahapoy (pan-os or spoiled),” said Silva.
Ilonggos were also encouraged to indulge in healthy eating habits.
Silva explained that it is also good to have substitutes like corn and root crops, if available, to reduce rice consumption. In other regions, especially in Mindanao, people are starting to eat more fruits, vegetables, corn, and other high-value crops instead of having rice per meal.
“Madamo man sang food or rice substitutes nga puede kaunon para ma-reduce ang rice requirement naton,” she added./PN
