SUPPORT TO AFFECTED FARMERS. Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary William Dar belies reports that there are rotting rice stocks in NFA warehouses during his visit at the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) in Batac City on Friday (August 30, 2019). Dar visited Ilocos Norte province twice this week after most farmers suffered from Typhoon “Ineng”. (Photo by Perry B. Dafun, MMSU StratCom)
BATAC CITY-- Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar on Friday belied reports that there are four million bags of rice rotting in the National Food Authority (NFA) warehouses in the country.
Speaking before farmers and government officials of Ilocos Norte, during a stakeholders forum at the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) in this city, Dar assured that there is no such big wastage in NFA depots across the country.
Earlier, the NFA reported that it has four million sacks of imported rice stocked in its warehouses, which is why it has not been buying palay (unmilled rice) from local farmers.
This was apparently uncovered during a Senate hearing by the agriculture and food committee chaired by Senator Cynthia Villar.
The inquiry was held to determine the impact of the liberalization of rice importation, exportation, and trade. In that meeting, NFA Administrator Judy Carol Dansal allegedly admitted that the agency could not buy rice from local farmers because of the large volume of grains stocked in their warehouses.
But Dar refuted the news report (that the stocks are rotting) and that he already gave the orders to the NFA chief to immediately release and sell the stocks to all rice outlets throughout the country so that the money will roll over to buy the produce of farmers this harvest season.
“Walang katotohanan na may ganyang kalaking nasisira sa mga bodega ng NFA (there is no such big waste of stocks in NFA warehouses),” Dar said, adding that he already recently talked with the NFA Administrator and told her to invite all media practitioners to visit all NFA warehouses all over the country to check the buffer stocks.
“We have enough rice stocks in our warehouses and they are all clean,” Dar assured, noting that the NFA is mandated by law to at least have a buffer stock good for 30 days, and would like to have a bigger buffer stock to meet the national demand.
Dar also asked members of the media to help the government, particularly the Department of Agriculture (DA), and straighten the news report so that the public may know the positive side of the story rather than the negative.
“We are always open to interact with the media so that only the truth will be read and heard. We are not hiding anything (to you), he said.
Dar admitted that he cannot handle these problems alone, such as the falling rice prices, the suspected swine disease, and even the drop of copra prices in southern Tagalog.
He said there are so many problems in the agriculture sector when he assumed his mandate as Secretary but he has no reason to concede.
He also lauded Ilocos Norte’s palay procurement program at PHP17 per kilo, which is a big help to farmers who were victims of Typhoon Ineng this year.
“This is a big help not only to the farmers but to the DA and NFA,” Dar said, adding that NFA cannot buy all the palay harvest of farmers throughout the country using its PHP7 billion budget for the year.
This year, the Ilocos Norte government has started buying the palay harvest of local farmers, including the drying, milling, and selling of the harvest.
Dar said palay procurement at the local level is a great help for the agriculture sector because food security is the main concern of any provincial government.
“That’s why the DA is now working in tandem with all provincial governments so that there would be shared responsibility,” he said, noting that Ilocos Norte is the kind of provincial government that “we will empower in many ways by adding more funds into its various programs”. (PNA)
