MOA between NFA and Leyte provincial government ensures increase in palay procurement

By Philippine Information Agency (PIA 8)
February 3, 2012

PAWING, PALO, Leyte  –  The signing recently, of a memorandum of agreement between the National Food Authority and the provincial government of Leyte, will ensure an increase in palay procurement accomplishment this year.

Signed by NFA 8 Regional Manager Alan Borja and Leyte Governor Carlos Jericho L. Petilla, said MOA allows the NFA to procure the palay deliveries collected by LGU-Leyte from farmers who have availed of the Increased Crop Output thru Rural Infrastructure and Community Empowerment, otherwise known as the ICOT-RICE project.

NFA 8 Regional Manager Alan B. Borja said that the increase in palay procurement will ensure the availability of cheaper NFA rice for the disadvantage sector of society. With more buffer rice stock in the country, there will be lesser need to import rice.

This also assures the replication of the 124% palay procurement accomplishment of the NFA Regional Office. For 2012, the Agency expects to surpass last year’s procurement accomplishment of 23,573 bags translated to P19,591,065 including incentives.

This mode of procurement is a novel idea because nowhere in the country, with the exception of Leyte, has the Agency been allowed to procure palay from any LGU, according to Director Borja.

He informed that last year, the Provincial Government sought the assistance of NFA for the procurement of the palay proceeds from the ICOT-RICE Project which provides soft loans to poor farmers who pay the same in the form of palay after harvest.

“At the outset, this would seem to be a mission impossible considering that the Agency is not allowed to buy palay from any LGU,” Manager Borja said.

“We underwent through the nitty-gritty process until we finally got the approval of Administrator Banayo and the perfection of the MOA,” Manager Borja added.

The Regional Manager said the signing of the memorandum of agreement between NFA and the Province of Leyte became a landmark conclusion to an otherwise not feasible proposition.

Ms. Agnes Militante, NFA-8 information manager, said that under NFA’s palay procurement program, the Agency buys palay at the current government support price of P17.00 per kilogram, clean and dry or those with fourteen percent (14%) moisture content and “Purity A” level.

Palay deliveries falling below this specification can also be accommodated subject to buying price adjustments computed in accordance with the current NFA Equivalent Net Weight (ENW) table for standard palay specifications.

Based on the MOA, in cases when LGU-Leyte shall avail of NFA’s drying facilities for its collected palay stocks from its farmers-beneficiaries, the latter shall charge the corresponding drying fees of twenty centavos (P0.20) per kilogram, if stocks are sold to NFA.

On the other hand, if the palay after drying fails the NFA standard specifications and cannot be procured, LGU-Leyte shall be charged with the drying fees based on commercial rates.