DAGUPAN CITY – To protect and maintain good quality of rice stocks in state agency’s warehouses, the National Food Authority (NFA) has encouraged its ‘bodegeros’ (warehouse supervisors) to developed effective measures for treating stored stocks against pests.

NFA Administrator Renan Dalisay said personnel of the state grain agency are encouraged to be creative to further develop the existing NFA pest control system and create innovative methods to safeguard rice stocks in their respective warehouses.

Some of the pest control measures that can be adopted in other warehouses is the use of madre de cacao of NFA Western Pangasinan warehouse as insect repellant, development of insect trap to catch insects at night and ‘batingting’ (gong) to drive away birds, Dalisay said during the inspection conducted at the NFA Western Pangasinan warehouse in Barangay Tebeng in Dagupan City on Friday.

Jaime Santos, warehouse supervisor of NFA Western Pangasinan, said his warehouse is using madre de cacao to keep insects away from the stored grains as well as reduced pesticide application.

“We can generate savings with the use of madre de cacao leaves, because this type of environment-friendly insect repellant is readily available and free,” said Santos.

Santos disclosed that madre de cacao is a very effective pest control because insects and pests hate the odor of its leaves.

Aside from madre de cacao, NFA Western Pangasinan warehouse developed an insect trap made with catchment basin, fluorescent lamp, wood stand and water.

The insect trap, which was locally developed by then NFA Western Pangasinan warehouse supervisor Engr. Fortunato Bulao, catches insects that may attack the stocks at night.

“We place hot water in the catchment basin and switch on the light of the insect trap to attract pests and catch them with the basin filled with water,” said Santos adding that they do the same process everyday to maintain the stocks’ good quality.

Another innovations developed by the NFA Western Pangasinan warehouse is what they called “batingting”.

Santos said “batingting”, which is made of small cans tied in a rope and contains stones is used like a bell that drives away birds that may eat the rice grains.

NFA made innovations of pest control measure to ensure that the rice stocked in NFA storage facilities will maintain its good quality and will be physically acceptable to consumers, he said.

NFA Western Pangasinan has three storage houses that can hold 50,000 to 60, 000 sacks of NFA rice each. (Elsha Marie B. Soriano- PIA-1, Pangasinan)

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