Rice stocks readied for lean months

MANILA, Philippines — The National Food Authority (NFA) has begun prepositioning rice buffer stocks nationwide as the lean season for the country’s main staple draws near.

A month before the onset of the traditional lean months of July to September, NFA prepared rice buffer stocks across the country, especially in calamity-vulnerable areas and island provinces.

"We have to move our inventories from surplus to deficit areas, while the current good weather allows us to transfer stocks between regions and ship to island provinces that are vulnerable to isolation during the rainy season," NFA administrator Judy Dansal said.

NFA has also started calibrating its rice releases to local government units and relief agencies to focus on rice dispersal operations and ensure that buffer stocks are safely and promptly delivered where they will be most needed.

Dansal said LGUs and the Department of Social Welfare and Development could source their rice requirements for relief operations directly from farmers, farmer cooperatives, or commercial rice traders.

Since the start of the lockdown, NFA has issued 4.9 million bags of rice to LGUs, DSWD, legislators and other relief agencies.

This is more than double the 2.01 million bags distribution target for the period.

Overall, NFA's total rice sales of 6.6 million bags from January to May represent 71 percent of the agency’s total rice distribution target of 9.3 million for the year.

Under the Rice Tariffication Law, NFA is mandated to maintain the country’s rice buffer stocks, sourced solely from local farmers, to be used in times of calamity or emergency.