“The NFA assured continuous support to farmers.

Farmer cooperatives and associations that will sell at least 2,000 metric tons of palay to the National Food Authority (NFA) will be granted farm machinery and equipment as additional incentives, Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Manny Piñol said on Wednesday.

Aside from this, groups that bring palay to the NFA will also be given priority to avail of the low-interest Production Loan Easy Access (PLEA), a loan program offered to qualified entities.

Also, the DA has turned over two mechanical dryers to the NFA to support the government’s palay procurement program to be set up in their warehouses in Region 6.

Each mechanical dryer has a capacity of 120 bags per batch, complete with prime mover, three-phase generating set and all attachments. Farmers may use the mechanical dryers for free provided they sell part of their palay produce to the NFA. The farmers will also receive additional drying incentives of P0.20 per kilo.

Meanwhile, the NFA assured continuous support to farmers by intensifying its local palay procurement programs.

Regional Director for Region 6 Angel Imperial Jr. said the NFA buys palay from farmers at P17 per kilogram with applicable incentives of up to P0.70 per kilogram.