Cabanatuan: To support more local rice farmers, the National Food Authority (NFA) announced plans to open a newly refurbished warehouse in Cabanatuan. NFA Administrator Larry Lacson conveyed this development in a Viber message to the Philippine News Agency, stating that the opening is scheduled for Friday.

According to Philippines News Agency, Lacson emphasized the urgency of renovating NFA warehouses to better serve palay (unhusked rice) farmers as the country approaches the end of the harvest season. This initiative is part of a broader effort to enhance storage capacity, following the recent openings of new warehouses in Bulacan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Albay, and Dipolog.

Earlier, on June 20, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. and Lacson conducted an inspection of a newly refurbished NFA warehouse in Roxas, Isabela. In addition to Roxas, renovations were completed on two other warehouses in Burgos and Tumauini, collectively offering a total capacity of 148,000 50-kilogram bags of rice.

Further refurbishments include warehouses in Bagabag and Bayombong in Nueva Vizcaya, with a capacity of 160,620 50-kg bags, and in Alfonso Lista and Lagawe in Ifugao, accommodating 28,880 50-kg bags. The NFA's renovation efforts come amid reports of low traders' prices for local palay, with some areas witnessing prices as low as PHP10 per kilogram.

Lacson also reported that the NFA has surpassed its palay procurement target by reaching 135 percent. "As of June 18, 5.4 million bags na palay nabili namin versus 3.97 million bags na target namin," he stated. Currently, Lacson noted, the NFA's rice inventory is sufficient for 11.5 days of the country's national rice buffer stock.