NFA Bataan overshoots palay procurement target

CITY of BALANGA, Bataan – The month of October is the peak of harvest season for most palay farmers in the province of Bataan. Sporadic harvests normally start first week of October and by the third week, full-blown harvesting is everywhere.

The National Food Authority (NFA) personnel took advantage of this situation and started talking with individual farmers and farmer-groups to compare the palay buying price of the agency to that of traders and private buyers. Most of them opted to sell their produce to the agency, taking advantage of the GID and FLGC Warehouse’s drying facilities (solar and mechanical). This led to the agency surpassing its 3,000 bags of palay procurement target for the month of October and achieved more than 200% of said target, procuring more than 6,000 bags of palay.

NFA palay procurement teams went to various farming areas to pick up paddy straight from rice fields and temporary storage areas near their farms. Some farmers, however, opted to personally bring their palay to NFA buying stations located at GID Warehouse in Balanga City and the Farm Level Grains Center (FLGC) in Pagalanggang, Dinalupihan to take advantage of the Php 0.20- Php 0.50 per kilogram or Php10.00 to Php25.00 per bag delivery incentive offered by the agency.

Farmers who sold clean and dry palay also received additional Php 0.20 per kilogram as drying incentive. Farmer groups and cooperatives also received additional Php 0.30 per kilo as Cooperative Development Incentive Fund (CDIF), which they can use in buying post-harvest facilities and production inputs such as fertilizers, etc.

Masapsap Irrigators Service Association from Masapsap, Orani, Bataan is one of the farmer-groups who have always supported the NFA palay procurement program, thus having the highest amount of accumulated CDIF to date.

Here’s what their member, Mr. Julian Gigante Jr. has to say about the agency’s efforts in supporting farmers: “Maganda ang ginagawa ng NFA ngayon na kayo na mismo ang nagpupunta sa mga magsasaka. Pinadali na ninyo ang requirements at proseso ng pagbebenta namin ng palay sa inyo, ipinaparamdam n’yo din na importante kami. Kami kasing mga magsasaka, syempre gusto din namin na sinusuyo kami, kagaya ng ginagawa ninyo ngayon kaya nagpapasalamat din kami sa NFA dahil ngayon, nararamdaman namin ang kahalagahan naming mga magbubukid.”

Other farmer groups/cooperatives who have sold palay to the agency are Dinalupihan Multi-Purpose Cooperative (DMPC), Pagalanggang MPC, Makabagong Agrikultura ng Dinalupihan Marketing Cooperative and Greater Bani MPC and Tuyo Farmers Communal Irrigation Project Irrigators Association, Inc.

The National Food Authority’s palay procurement program is continuous and farmers who wish to sell their palay to the agency may coordinate with our GID Warehouse at (047) 237-2914 and our office at (047) 237-2914.