SAN JOSE, Antique – The rice buffer stock in Antique remains adequate while the palay procurement is still ongoing, according to the National Food Authority (NFA).
NFA provincial manager Marianito Bejemino said the total rice inventory of 610,961 bags will last for 123 days.
Of the total stocks, 23,657 bags are in NFA warehouses while the 61,639 bags are with commercial traders. The remaining 525,665 bags are household stocks.
NFA warehouses are procuring palay at a government support price of P17 per kilogram (kg) with the additional P3 per kg buffer stocking incentive (BFI), said information officer Lorelyn Bayog.
To further encourage farmers to sell their produce, the NFA provides P0.20 per kg as drying incentive and P0.20 to 0.50 per kg as delivery incentive.
Farmer organizations accredited under NFA Institutionalized Procurement Program could also avail themselves of the P0.30 per kg cooperative development incentive fee (CDIF).
Meanwhile, wet palay’s (those with moisture content (MC) not exceeding 30 percent) price will depend on its moisture content to be determined using NFA’s equivalent net weight factor table.
The agency also accepts custom hire drying of palay with more than 14 percent MC but is still subject to the availability and capacity of the mechanical dryers with a minimum of 100 bags per load.
Individual farmers who are non-NFA passbook holders could also sell their palay produce to NFA with a maximum of 200 bags. For their succeeding deliveries, farmers will be asked to secure NFA farmer’s passbook. (With PIA/PN)
