New NFA system halves palay handling costs
The trial also found that moisture levels remained within safe limits and spillage was minimal, while pest infestation ranged from light to moderate and remained manageable.
FARMERS are set to benefit from the National Food Authority’s use of one-ton flexible bags, slashing the handling time of palay from an hour to only 15 minutes, helping farmers cut handling costs.
Photograph courtesy of da
The National Food Authority (NFA) said it has reduced palay handling time by 75 percent and cut related costs by half in a pilot program using one-ton bags, a system that could improve procurement efficiency and allow the agency to allocate more funds to buying rice from local farmers.
“Our pilot test showed a 75 percent reduction in handling time and a 50 percent cut in handling costs. Work that used to take an hour can now be completed in just 15 minutes, while handling costs are halved. Using tonner bags also allows us to make better use of warehouse space,” NFA Administrator Larry Lacson said.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr., who chairs the NFA Council, said the savings could help the agency procure more palay using the same resources.
“For our rice farmers, this means we can potentially procure more palay with the same resources. If we can lower handling costs and use our warehouses more efficiently, more of the NFA’s resources can go toward buying palay at a fair market price from our farmers,” Tiu Laurel noted.
Lacson inspected the system at the NFA’s Triplex Warehouse in Davao del Sur on 29 October to assess its performance and identify improvements in procurement and storage operations.
Launched on 16 October 2025, the pilot uses flexible intermediate bulk containers, or tonner bags, in three NFA branches in Nueva Ecija, Occidental Mindoro and Davao del Sur.
Each bag holds one metric ton of palay and uses reinforced lifting loops that allow forklifts to handle and stack the grain, reducing manual labor and the need for conventional 50-kilogram sacks.
The trial also found that moisture levels remained within safe limits and spillage was minimal, while pest infestation ranged from light to moderate and remained manageable.
However, the NFA identified areas requiring further work, including standardized fumigation procedures, testing bag strength and compression limits, and developing pest-control protocols for bulk storage.
The agency said it would continue monitoring and refining the system before considering wider implementation as part of its modernization efforts to improve procurement, reduce post-harvest losses, and strengthen rice buffer stocks.