Ex-NFA exec denies saying rice stocks good for 2 days

MANILA, Philippines — The former spokesperson for the National Food Authority (NFA) yesterday denied saying the agency’s rice stocks were good for only two days.

In a letter to The STAR, acting public affairs manager Rebecca Olarte asserted that she “never said that NFA stocks were good for less than two days during my stint as spokesperson.” 

“I would always explain that although the NFA buffer stock was thinning, the whole industry stock inventory, including commercial and household stocks, were more than enough, good for 88 to 92 days during that time,” she added.

On Feb. 6, various media platforms, both print and broadcast, quoted Olarte as saying the NFA had only two days of supply left.

Radio station dzBB quoted her as saying the NFA inventory had by then fallen to 65,200 tons, good for two days’ consumption.

She said the NFA had “standby authority” to import 250,000 tons and that it was awaiting the go-signal to proceed with the importation.

In her letter, Olarte took issue with certain congressmen who said her Feb. 6 statement gave the public the impression that there was rice shortage.

She also cited the NFA report submitted to the House of Representatives committee on agriculture on Tuesday.

In its report, the NFA said its stocks, as of Feb. 7, were good for 1.7 days to two days, while commercial inventory would last for 27 days. On the other hand, rice held by households was good for an additional 42 days, for a total supply of 71 days.

The STAR based its Feb. 22 story headlined “Rice supply good for 71 days – NFA” on the agency’s report.

“The NFA had always been consistent in saying that there is no rice shortage in the country. What is lacking is the low-priced NFA rice that low-income consumers have been looking for,” Olarte said.

“As consistently explained to the media and the public, NFA was forced to withdraw the agency’s low-priced rice from the market when buffer stock went too low to give priority to the needs of calamity victims, depressed areas and island provinces, and comply with the agency’s commitments with relief agencies and local government units,” she added.

The NFA has a new spokesperson, Rex Estoperez.

‘Convert agriculture plantations to rice lands’

Meanwhile, peasant groups have urged the Duterte government to scrap its plan to convert 1.6 million hectares of agricultural lands into agribusiness plantations to achieve rice self-sufficiency.

The Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA) said that existing agribusiness plantations, which cover more than 1.2 million hectares, should be converted back to staple rice and corn lands.

UMA secretary-general John Milton Lozande pointed out that the expansion of plantations does not guarantee employment generation, especially pineapple and oil palm plantations which only need one worker for every three to eight hectares of land. 

“At the same time, control of the lands through agribusiness venture arrangements would revert back to landlords and multinational and oligarchic firms at the expense of agrarian reform beneficiaries,” he added.

In Davao and North Cotabato, rice and corn lands decreased from 386,950 hectares in 1991 to just 283,173 hectares in 2001 as these were converted into plantations, according to the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas. – Rhodina Villanueva