HARVEST SEASON. Rice farmers in Bago City, Negros Occidental harvesting palay in September. The provincial government has an available fund for palay procurement while the National Food Authority continues to buy unhusked rice from farmers in the province at a higher price. (PNA Bacolod file photo)
BACOLOD CITY -- Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said the PHP5-million fund allocated by the provincial government for the procurement of palay (unhusked rice) is still available.
“The fund is available. If ever there’s a need to buy palay, we will buy,” the governor said in a press briefing on Monday.
Lacson noted that the ordinance approved by the Provincial Board funding the palay procurement is still in the publication period, and the buying process can proceed later.
In September, the governor said the provincial government has set aside an initial PHP5-million fund for palay buying amid the plummeting prices.
The province’s buying price will be at PHP15 per kilogram. It will procure the farmers’ palay then sell the stocks to government institutions. The proceeds from the sale will be used to continue buying from farmers until needed.
The buying station will be set up at the rice processing center in Bago City, which has drying, milling, and storage facilities.
In Negros Occidental, the National Food Authority (NFA) is buying palay at PHP19 per kilogram, specifically for clean and dry stocks.
From the previous support price of PHP17 per kilogram, the NFA Council has recommended an additional PHP2, making the current buying price at PHP19 per kilogram.
However, the incentives of up to PHP3.70 per kilogram have been removed.
Frisco Canoy, provincial manager of NFA-Negros Occidental, has been encouraging farmers to sell their palay at NFA buying stations in cities of Bacolod, Bago and San Carlos; and Ilog town.
Last month, the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist reported that the average price of palay in the province has dropped to PHP13 to PHP14 per kilogram. (PNA)
