The National Food Authority (NFA) is urging rice farmers to invest a little more time and effort into drying their harvests, stressing that this simple step could significantly boost their earnings and help meet the country’s growing rice supply demands.

NFA Administrator Larry Lacson called on farmers to take advantage of the dry, hot weather to thoroughly dry their palay. While drying the harvest may take a few additional days and an extra cost of P1 per kilo, the rewards are substantial.

“That’s a net additional income of P4 per kilo,” Lacson explained. “For example, a farmer harvesting 5 tons per hectare could net an extra P20,000.”

Even more enticing, Lacson said, is the opportunity for farmers to sell their dried harvest directly to NFA. “This week, we’ve raised our buying price to P18 per kilo for fresh palay and P24 per kilo for clean and dry palay,” he said.

Lacson noted that rice millers are currently paying P20-P22 per kilo for clean and dry palay. Fresh or wet palay are usually priced lower by P5 per kilo, he added.

The NFA’s appeal comes amid a challenging global rice market. The price of rice has hit its lowest point in over two years, adversely affecting the price of locally produced palay. Additionally, the anticipated better harvest this year due to improved weather conditions, has also pressured palay prices.

The NFA aims to purchase 880,000 metric tons of palay this year to meet the new rice buffer stock requirement that is equivalent to 15 days of national consumption, as set by the amended Rice Tariffication Law. To achieve this, the agency is ramping up its rice milling operations, expanding its warehouse capacity, and investing in new trucks to improve procurement efforts.

With a procurement budget of approximately P14 billion this year, including P5 billion carried over from last year, NFA is determined to maintain sufficient stocks for food security and boost farmers profits. ### (Photo by Jay Morales, DA-AFID)