SAN ILDEFONSO, Bulacan — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. assured farmers in this province that the original mandate of the National Food Authority (NFA) will be restored, particularly the sale of rice and to sustain food security and price stability.
This was the major assurance of the president when he met farmers in an informal dialogue (UGNAYAN) held at the NFA Warehouse in this town on Wednesday.
Farmers were calling to the president to bring back the regulatory functions of the NFA to help stabilize food prices, especially rice. The president also wants allow NFA to sell cheap rice regularly in the market again.
In addition, he said, the equipment of the NFA and farmers will be completed from the construction of rice mills, rice dryers and the ongoing renovation of NFA warehouses.
During the informal dialogue with Bulacan farmers, the president pointed out that when the NFA was founded in 1972 by his father, Former President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the agency’s mandate was not only to focus on rice but also to include corn and other basic food commodities.
While waiting in this medium-term reform in the NFA, President Marcos ordered Department of Agriculture Secretary Tiu Laurel to expedite the procurement of delivery trucks in order to pick up palay directly to the farmland of the farmers.
The president approved the allocation of P5.3 billion to NFA for the provision of Rice Dryers where six units are set to be deployed in Bulacan.
Additional Rice Mills in Bulacan, similar to those in Pulilan and the City of Baliwag, are also underway to be funded by the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF).
“To ensure the safety of Palay against the rain and all types of infestation, NFA is in the midst of rehabilitating its warehouses,” Marcos Jr. said.
He added that the rehabilitation of warehouses in San Ildefonso, San Miguel and Balagtas are now in the pipeline. NFA is targeting to complete the rehabilitation of the entire 134 warehouses across the country by 2027. (UnliNews Online)
Source: PIA Bulacan
