Several farmer organizations have shown support for proposed legislation aiming to empower the National Food Authority (NFA) to re-enter the rice market, enabling it to buy palay and sell rice to curb unjust price fluctuations.
Farmer groups including the Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) and Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) have endorsed a bill seeking to restore the National Food Authority’s (NFA) authority to directly intervene in the Philippines’ rice market. The bill, known as the Rice Industry and Consumer Empowerment (RICE) Act, primarily authored by former Speaker and Leyte Representative Martin Romualdez, was discussed during a House agriculture and food committee hearing. The NFA, a state-run body, had its power to buy palay and sell rice removed following the 2019 Rice Tariffication Law (RTL). Before RTL, the NFA’s market interventions helped maintain more stable rice prices. Currently, rice prices experience significant fluctuations, which farmer leaders attribute to middlemen such as traders and importers benefiting disproportionately. FFF national manager Raul Montemayor emphasized that reauthorizing the NFA to manage rice stocks could prevent unfair price hikes. SINAG executive director Jayson Cainglet suggested that the NFA should be able to procure up to 10% of the harvest during low-price periods to stabilize the market and support farmers’ income. Romualdez stated there is an urgent need to address ongoing issues like price instability, warehouse congestion, and weakened palay procurement by reinstating some or all of the NFA’s former regulatory and intervention capacities. This move aims to bolster farmers’ welfare and promote a more balanced rice market in the country.
Sources referenced:
- https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/988979/farmer-groups-support-bill-restoring-nfa-role-in-rice-market/story/
