Malolos: The Department of Agriculture (DA), through the National Food Authority (NFA), has resumed palay (unhusked rice) procurement to support local farmers amid low traders' prices in Bulacan and other parts of the country. This initiative aims to provide relief to farmers who are affected by the significant drop in traders' prices, which have plummeted to as low as PHP11.50 per kilogram of wet palay, a rate that falls below the estimated production cost of PHP12/kg to PHP14/kg.

According to Philippines News Agency, Reynaldo Manliclic, a 56-year-old local farmer, praised the government's intervention. He emphasized that the NFA's buying rate is higher than that of traders, making it a substantial help for farmers and motivating them to continue rice farming despite the presence of unscrupulous traders. "Napakalaking tulong sa aming magsasaka gawa ng mataas ang presyo ng NFA kumpara sa labas kaya dito kami pumupunta. Kasi kung sa labas kami pupunta sa traders, talagang lugi (It's a huge help for us farmers because the NFA offers higher buying rate than the traders, that's why we're coming here. Because if we'll go to traders, we will definitely suffer loss)," Manliclic stated in an interview.

Currently, the NFA's average buying price is set at PHP18/kg for fresh and wet palay and PHP24/kg for clean and dry palay. This move includes the reopening of the 45-year-old NFA warehouse in Malolos, Bulacan, which has been upgraded to store up to 70,000 50-kg bags of palay from local farmers in the province. NFA Administrator Larry Lacson highlighted the importance of this project, stating that it is vital for fulfilling the NFA's mandate of securing a reliable rice buffer stock, particularly during times of crisis.

DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. has also committed to ensuring the protection of farmers from unreasonable buying prices by conducting regular inspections of NFA warehouses nationwide, especially as the harvest season comes to an end.