DAVAO CITY—National Food Authority Administrator Larry Lacson led a three-day visit to Davao by the NFA Council to review the agency’s operations, inspect facilities and conduct a dialogue with farmers’ groups to provide council members an on-ground perspective and better understanding of farmers’ plights and concerns.
Administrator Lacson and NFA Council representatives from the National Economic and Development Authority, Department of Finance, Department Social Work and Development, Department of Trade and Industry, Land Bank of the Philippines, and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, inspected NFA warehouses and engaged in dialogues with farmer cooperatives, irrigators’ associations, and local NFA staff.
Administrator Lacson addressed during the three-day visit concerns over infrastructure deficiencies, reassuring farmers of ongoing efforts to enhance postharvest facilities. Apart from the P5 billion budget this year for warehouse upgrades, he promised substantial investments for future procurement of drying and milling equipment to improve operational efficiency and increase rice output.
Under the leadership of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr., Lacson said the NFA is focused on enhancing its operations and to procure more palay at competitive prices to help farmers improve their finances.
“Future investments of the NFA will be geared towards postharvest. For this year, we have P5 billion to retrofit or construct warehouses. Next year, we’ll bring in the dryers and milling facilities. Hopefully, these can be completed within two years’ time,” he said.
NEDA Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon said the visit provided NFA Council members better appreciation of the impact of their decisions to farmers’ lives and better insights for future policy formulations.
“This was very useful because it gave us an idea of how it is happening on ground, what the concerns of the farmers are, and also to see the current state of NFA facilities,” she said
Farmers expressed gratitude for the opportunity to directly interact with the NFA Council, noting it was their first such engagement. “We are grateful the NFA Council and officials from the central office visited us,” said President Mario Tiburcio of the Davao Del Sur Provincial Farmers Action Council.
DOF Assistant Chief Economic Counselor Dir. Jolly D. La Rosa stressed the importance of understanding farmers’ needs first hand to provide effective policy support.
“It’s important for us to know directly from the farmers what interventions they need and what extension and policy support we can provide to them. If we didn’t come here, we might not have learned firsthand information from our farmers what they really need,” she said.
Administrator Lacson assured farmers that the NFA will continue to buy palay at competitive rates to ensure they enjoy the financial gains from their hard work.
In mid-April, the NFA Council increased the agency’s palay-buying price to a range of P17-P30 a kilo from last year’s P16-P23 range.
Looking ahead, Administrator Lacson said the NFA is committed to further engagements with the NFA Council, emphasizing the importance of aligning policies with the realities on the ground to drive sustainable agricultural development. ### (Photo by DA-NFA Regional Office XI)
