Bulacan farmers stand to earn more as the National Food Authority (NFA) resumes buying palay in the province—an initiative that supports President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s Benteng Bigas, Meron Na program.

President Marcos ordered the government’s push to boost local rice production, which will not only raise farmers’ income, but also strengthen the country’s buffer stock for times of calamity.

In a press briefing at Malacañang on Tuesday, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro announced that the NFA has resumed palay-buying in Bulacan after clearing out its warehouse.

Castro said that with the available storage space, the NFA could buy up to 5,000 sacks of palay from Bulacan farmers, as the agency’s grain reserves could be distributed to outlets around the country that sell rice at PhP20 per kilo.

“Dahil dito, hindi lang madadagdagan ang kita ng ating mga magsasaka, mapagtitibay pa nito ang buffer stock ng ahensiya na kakailanganin sa panahon ng kalamidad,” Castro said.

Castro reiterated that President Marcos has been pushing for the return of the NFA’s mandate to buy palay from the farmers at favorable prices to sustain rice production, and to sell the rice directly to consumers to ensure affordability of the staple food.

“Nais niya pang maibalik ang mandato ng NFA na makapagbenta ng bigas diretso sa consumers para maging matatag ang presyo nito,” Castro said.

The Department of Agriculture (DA), through the National Food Authority (NFA), has resumed palay procurement to support local farmers amid the low buying prices of rice traders in Bulacan and other parts of the country.

Traders’ buying prices hit as low as PhP11.50 per kilo of wet palay, below the estimated production cost of PhP12 to PhP14 per kilo.

Currently, the NFA buys fresh or wet palay at PhP18 per kilo and clean or dry palay at PhP24 per kilo. | PND