NFA: There’s enough rice for rainy days
SAN FERNANDO CITY–Rice supply in the Ilocos region remains steady despite low production in some areas.
This was assured by National Food Authority regional director Joseph de la Cruz who urged provincial managers to exert extra-effort in beefing up their stockpiles by sourcing other rice farming communities.
In Pangasinan, NFA provincial manager Renato Sanedrin reported that weekly allocations of 120 to 140 bags of rice are being released promptly to each of the 85 Bigasan ni Gloria sa Palengke (BGP) outlets to ensure steady supply to consumers.
The weekly allocation will be increased to 200 per BGP next month at the start of the heavy monsoon rains.
Ramon Cuaresma, NFA assistant manager for operations in eastern Pangasinan, said participants to the BGP marketing scheme, which include grains retailers, farmers, cooperatives and locals government units, are being periodically monitored to prevent diversion and overpricing of rice.
The NFA is maintaining its socialized price for price at P18 per kilo.
De La Cruz said a new rice shipment from Vietnam, the third for the year, is now being unloaded at the Poro Point here and will be immediately distributed to the various NFA warehouses as buffer stock.
The recent palay procurement by the agency last February netted more than 500,000 bags of rice which is now part of the current warehouse inventory throughout the region.
Owing to the low rainfall last year, palay production, especially in rainfed areas, dropped by 15 per cent, or an average of 85 cavans per hectare.
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