DA-NFA NUEVA ECIJA HEIGHTENS PALAY PROCUREMENT
Nueva Ecija is dubbed as the “Rice Granary of the Philippines” because of its boundless farms devoted to producing rice. According to the data gathered by the Philippine Statistics Authority, the province produced 770,830 metric tons of palay in the 2nd Quarter of CY 2020.
The Department of Agriculture through the National Food Authority is procuring the harvested palay of local farmers at a price of 19 pesos per kilo provided that they meet the maximum 14% moisture content and minimum purity of 96% of palay.
The allotted fund for Rice Procurement of NFA Nueva Ecija was 481,000,000 pesos equivalent to 485,000 bags.
As of November 3, 2020, NFA Nueva Ecija was able to procure 500,501 bags with an average of 17,093 bags of daily procurement.
Meanwhile, the Provincial Manager of NFA-Nueva Ecija Antonio Puno said that only legitimate farmers or member of farmers’ organization and listed to Registry System for Basic Sector in Agriculture (RSBSA) of the Department of Agriculture can sell their palay to the buying stations of NFA Nueva Ecija.
“Ine-encourage natin yung mga magsasaka na magbenta ng palay sa NFA. Anyway, ‘yung mga ani po nila na medyo kailangan pang patuyuin, available po ang ating solar dryer sa ating compound at meron din naman tayong mga mechanical dryers na pwede nilang gamitin basta ibebenta nila pagkatapos nilang mapatuyo”, he added.
Garciano Bautista, Manager of Bagong Buhay ng Mabini Multipurpose Cooperative from Sto. Domingo, Nueva Ecija expressed his gratefulness to the endless effort and support of DA to farmers.
“Kami po ay nagpapasalamat sa NFA dahil natugunan ‘yung ibang mga pangangailangan ng farmers tulad po ng medyo mataas ang presyo ng palay na 19 pesos per kilo. Meron napo kaming naibentang 4,000 bags sa NFA mula ng magsimula ang anihan noong October”, Bautista said.
Moreover, NFA Nueva Ecija has 17 buying stations and three Mobile Procurement Centers around the province with a capacity of 968,000 bags in total. The warehouses still have available space for 490,122 bags.
Currently, the prevailing prices of palay are 12.00 – 14.00 (fresh) and 16.50 – 18.70 (dry) for ordinary rice while 14.10 – 16.00 (fresh) and 18.80 – 22.00 (dry) for special rice.###
Writer: Ernesto Payawal
Photographer: Danica Jen P. Jino