Eastern Visayas to miss palay procurement goal this year

published November 17, 2008 in BusinessWorld and GMANews.tv

PALO, Leyte — The National Food Authority (NFA) office for Eastern Visayas said state palay procurement will fall short of target, as farmers — especially those indebted to their buyers — have been selling more to private traders.

As of last month, NFA bought just 14,412 50-kilogram bags of unhusked rice in the region, against a target of 53,000 Lkg bags for the year.

NFA regional information officer Mary Agnes Militante said that out of the six provincial offices in the region, Biliran posted the highest procurement volume with 9,416 Lkg bags. NFA bought only 2,981 Lkg bags in Samar; 1,680 Lkg bags in Leyte; 243 Lkg bags in Southern Leyte; 60 Lkg bags in Northern Samar; and 32 Lkg bags in Eastern Samar.

Benjamin Marta, NFA regional director, said it would be hard for the region to meet its procurement target this year despite the higher buying price, incentives and intensified campaign.

"We were surprised by the low procurement in the region, even with our massive campaign," he said in an interview late last week, noting that private traders in the region offered to buy palay at P13-P18 per kilogram, compared to NFA’s P17/kg. — S. Q. Meniano