The National Food Authority in Negros Occidental will now buy clean and dry palay from accredited local farmers assisted by the Department of Agrarian Reform and National Irrigator Association, Cynthia Luz Chua, NFA senior grains operations officer, said yesterday.

Chua said they will focus on the acquisition and procurement of palay from local farmers. She said President Benigno Aquino III had instructed all NFA offices in the country to prioritize buying local produce to reduce the country’s purchase of imported rice.

She also said NFA is a ready market for rice and corn farmers when buying price in the commercial level is lower than the buying price of the agency. NFA buys clean and dry palay at P17 per kilo.

Accredited farmers’ groups and individual farmers will receive incentives in drying and delivery and cooperative development fees, which they can use to finance their post-harvest facilities and production inputs to help them improve their production, Chua also said.

NFA will also accept walk-in farmers selling their produce at a maximum of 200 bags, she added.

Farmers’ groups and cooperatives only have to provide a copy of their registration certificate from the Security Exchange Commission, Cooperative Development Authority, and other registering agencies of the government, while individual farmers must present a certification issued by their barangay captain, agriculture officer, or DAR, indicating their total land area and yield produce per hectare.

Meanwhile, the agency also has existing buying stations, the Gequillana warehouse in Dancalan, Ilog; Napro warehouse in San Carlos City; and Sanson and JJ warehouses in Bacolod City.*LTG

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