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Newly delivered sacks of rice from Regions II and III are being organized inside the National Food Authority (NFA) warehouse in Valenzuela on January 20, 2025.
STAR / Michael Varcas
MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Audit (COA) lauded the National Food Authority’s (NFA)’s efforts in beefing up its rice buffer stock as it nearly hit its target level for the first time in decades, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.
The DA said the COA made the “rare commendation” to NFA in its latest Audit Observation Memorandum (AOM) issued to the grains agency.
The DA said the COA highlighted the near-optimal rice inventory levels achieved by the NFA in 2024 thanks to its higher and better buying price mechanism.
“We commend the management in maintaining the required buffer stock to almost optimal level of rice inventory that significantly mitigated the risk of not meeting the country’s food security in cases of calamity and emergency situations,” read the AOM, signed by audit team leader Abdelghani Sultan.
The NFA met its mandated buffer stock requirement of 300,000 metric tons (MT) last year – a long-standing challenge flagged in previous audits of the agency, according to the DA.
COA attributed the turnaround to “innovative strategies and approaches,” especially the rollout of the Price Range Scheme (PRICERS), the DA said.
“We are pleased and thankful for this rare commendation from COA. It’s a strong vote of confidence in our efforts to ensure farmers earn fair returns for their hard work as well as ensuring sufficient rice supply,” said Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., who also chairs the NFA council, the grain agency’s highest policy-making body.
To better compete with private traders, the NFA Council last year raised its palay buying price to a range of P17 to P30 per kilo.
“We aim to sustain our aggressive palay procurement especially in areas where palay prices are low and will soon complete repairs of 134 warehouses, which will allow us to buy even more palay at fair prices,” NFA administrator and CEO Larry Lacson said.
Launched in April 2024, PRICERS enables weekly price adjustments of NFA buying price to match market conditions. The NFA reached 90 percent of its 495,000 MT procurement target for 2024.
“While COA urged the NFA to maintain these gains, the memorandum stands as a significant vote of confidence in the agency’s reformed strategy – marking a clear departure from previous criticisms,” the DA said.
