President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has renewed his directive for the National Food Authority (NFA) to return to its original role: stabilizing rice prices by buying local palay during harvest and selling rice during lean months.
“Binabalik natin ang NFA. Alam nyo ng unang tinayo ang NFA, ang trabaho ng NFA, rice and corn yan eh. Rice and corn, ang trabaho ng NFA, bumibili kapag panahon ng ani para hindi babagsak ang presyo. Para may demand, para ma-maintain ang presyo,” Marcos Jr. told farmers in San Ildefonso, Bulacan.
This system, he added, had disappeared over time and stressed the need to restore it.
The President inspected an NFA warehouse in Barangay Malipampang, San Ildefonso, and discussed efforts to set a floor price for rice to ensure fair income for farmers. He was joined by Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel and NFA Administrator Larry Lacson during the dialogue.
Before the inspection, Marcos Jr. also met with local farmers and leaders of their cooperatives.
The NFA was created through Presidential Decree No. 4, signed on September 26, 1972, by then-President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. Originally known as the National Grains Authority, its mandate covered rice, corn, and other grains like sorghum, mung beans, and peanuts.
Over the years, the agency’s role shifted. The Chief Executive lamented that the NFA had become focused on rice importation. “Tapos pinalitan ang trabaho ng NFA naging importer. Sabi ko hindi naman dapat ganun,” he said.
“Kaya‘t binabalik natin sa dating gawi na yun NFA na bumibili, tinitignan yun presyo, para maganda ang presyo sa pagbili sa inyo (farmers) ng palay.”
The shift followed the passage of Republic Act No. 11203, or the Rice Tariffication Law, in 2019. The law transformed the NFA from a “trading and regulatory agency” to a “buffer stocking agency.”IMT
