Efforts of the Department of Agriculture to shore up farmgate prices of palay (paddy rice) get a “big brother” support from one of the country’s biggest grains industry player.
Agriculture Secretary William Dar said the Mindanao Grains Processing Co. Inc. (MinGrains), which owns and operates a modern postharvest facility in Isabela, has offered to provide drying and storage facilities for palay that will be bought from Isabela farmers by the National Food Authority (NFA) and Isabela provincial government this main harvest season.
MinGrains has committed to accept up to one million bags of palay to be dried and stored at its facility in Reina Mercedes, Isabela.
The facility—considered as Southeast Asia’s biggest corn processing complex—has a drying capacity of 1,200 metric tons (MT) per day and storage space of 60,000 MT in its 12 silos, which can also store palay. It currently dries and stores corn harvests of local farmers who collectively till more than 20,000 hectares.
“We are grateful for this offer as we intensify our efforts to help small rice farmers and encourage LGUs to actively and directly participate in the rice industry value chain – from palay-buying, drying, milling to rice marketing,” said Secretary Dar.
“Once more, we are seeing the importance of big businesses helping small farmers to grow and prosper, via our “big brother-small brother” partnership. We at the DA will nurture such partnership at every opportunity possible,” he added.
Under the proposed arrangement, the Isabela provincial government will buy palay from farmers and bring them to Reina Mercedes facility for drying and storage. NFA will then take care of milling through accredited operators.
“We can receive fresh palay at 1,200 MT per day using our main dryers, and probably another 600 MT per day, after fixing other dryers to handle palay instead of just corn. It will only take two weeks for us to retool for rice. Meantime, we already stopped receiving corn,” said Bioco, who recently retires as MinGrains chief operating officer.
“Secretary Dar really wants a mechanism to buy large volume of fresh palay (not dry) during this incoming wet season rice harvest,” added Bioco, who also chairs the Philippine Maize Federation, Inc. (PhilMaize).
Secretary Dar and Bioco met in Malaybalay, Bukidnon, that formed part of the DA chief’s three-day sortie in Davao and Northern Mindanao regions.
Bioco said “it is imperative that farmers have access to drying and storage facilities during harvest. Otherwise, prices will fall and so his income.”
Isabela Governor Rodolfo Albano said “this is a very welcome development as we are 90-95% complete in our intensified local palay procurement. It will certainly boost the morale of our farmers.”
He said they will initially buy 4,000 MT from farmers in Isabela, the country’s second top rice producer, harvesting 1.2 million MT of palay in 2018, representing six percent of national output of 19.07 million MT.
The details of the “big brother-small brother,” and LGU-DA partnership will be fleshed out at a planned meeting to be attended by officials of MinGrains, Governor Albano, DA Cagayan Valley regional director Narciso Edillo and NFA administrator Judy Carol Dansal. MinGrains is a member of PhilMaize, led by its president Roger Navarro.
Secretary Dar earlier encouraged top rice producers to engage in direct palay procurement to prop up farmgate prices, following the “Isabela model.”
Isabela vice-governor Faustino Dy III said they have been engaged in the rice industry value chain for several years now. This year they are allotting ₱450 million for the purpose, following the new NFA support price of ₱19/kg with 14% moisture content.
Nueva Ecija, the country’s top rice producer, has committed another ₱300 million to buy palay from their respective farmers. To date, 29 more provinces have favorably responded to Secretary Dar’s call, bringing the total to 31 provincial LGUs.
Meanwhile, the DA has added P1 billion more to augment the P1.5-B Expanded Survival and Recovery Assistance Program for Rice Farmers (SURE Aid) program, where it grants farmers, tilling one hectare or less, a P15,000-loan with zero-interest and no collateral, through the Land Bank of the Philippines and DA’s Agricultural Credit and Policy Council (DA-ACPC).
Finally, Secretary Dar has directed the NFA to prioritize buying palay from SURE Aid program farmer-beneficiaries. ###
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Noel O. Reyes
DA Spokesperson and Asst. Secretary for Communications and Media Affairs
09284889686
