GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- The National Food Authority (NFA) has allocated an initial PHP50 million this year for the purchase of palay from farmers in Region 12 (Soccsksargen).
Dianne Silva, NFA-12 regional manager, said Friday the move aims to offset the unstable commercial palay buying price in parts of the region that has dropped to as low as PHP14 per kg. in the past two weeks.
She said they submitted a request to their central office for the release of additional funds for their palay procurement program.
"This will allow us to purchase more palay from local farmers this harvest season at higher prices," Silva said in an interview.
The provincial board's committee on agriculture, earlier, called the attention of NFA and other concerned agencies over the declining palay buying price of commercial traders in the area.
Silva and representatives of the Department of Agriculture 12 met with members of the South Cotabato provincial board in Koronadal City early this week to resolve the problem.
Board member Romulo Solivio, the committee chair, said local farmers have been clamoring for government intervention to spare them from further losses.
Since last year, Silva said the agency has increased its palay buying prices to offer local farmers a better alternative.
She said farmers may now avail of an additional PHP3.70 incentive per kg. on top of their buying price of PHP17 per kg.
NFA set an incentive of PHP3 a kg. for buffer stocking, 30 centavos a kg. as cooperative development incentive fee, 20 centavos a kg. as drying incentive, and 20 centavos a kg. for the delivery fee.
With the incentives, the official said members of farmers' organizations and cooperatives may avail of a buying price of PHP20.70 a kg. while non-members or individual farmers could get PHP20.40 a kg.
She said NFA may provide hauling trucks to farmers who have difficulty transporting their harvests to their designated buying stations.
However, she said the 20-centavo incentive for delivery will be waived by the agency for those who would avail of such service. (PNA)
