NFA "can't compete with local rice traders", imports rice instead.

NFA "can't compete with local rice traders", imports rice instead.

The National Food Authority insists it cannot buy rice from local farmers higher that P17 because the Department of Agriculture forbids them to,March 10,2018.

According to Lucia Balayon, NFA provincial manager for Davao del Sur and Davao Occidental, private traders force the NFA out of competition by buying rice for P19 from local farmers.

Compared to the prices offered by private traders Balayon said

"It’s sad to note that we could not directly compete with traders, the fixed budget for NFA is way too low compared with farm gate prices”.

This difference in buying price and budget allotted for buying rice locally was meant to be amended October last year when Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol recommended an increase in the NFA’s buying price by at least P3 per kg to be more competitive.

But the NFA Council turned this down saying raising their budget to compete with traders by even just a centavo was not easy.

And yet the NFA has been importing rice from Thailand and Vietnam for 24 pesos, an irony the agency is aware of.

It said that although the agency's budget for buying local goods is insufficient, its budget for importing rice from other countries for P24 is still within their budget.

Rosita Tabugo, NFA official for Iligan and Lanao del Norte, understands these circumstances since farmers will always opt to trade their goods for higher prices.

She further added that farmers owe debts to traders whom they borrow money from during the planting season

Increasing the NFA’s buying price has to go through a process and has to be approved by the NFA Council which is yet to be approved in the coming weeks.

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