Across the Philippines, farmers are seeing brighter prospects this harvest season, thanks to a significant increase in rice buying prices set by the National Food Authority, or NFA.
The announcement of higher prices has brought a sense of relief to agricultural communities, particularly those currently reaping their wet season crop, according to the Department of Agriculture.
Farmers like Feliciano Jaojao from Punta, Dipolog City, and Gabriel Cale from Surigao Sur, who sold their fresh palay early in September for P24 and P23 per kilogram, respectively, were among those who benefited from the favorable prices.
Jaojao, an officer of the Dipolog Polanco Irrigators Association, reported that only a quarter of their members had completed their harvests, with the peak expected by the end of September.
His three-hectare farm yielded an impressive 200 bags (60 kilos each) per hectare from hybrid rice, totaling approximately 12 tons, while his inbred rice farm produced 70 to 100 bags per hectare.
Cale also reaped the rewards of early harvesting, selling at the farmgate at P23 per kilogram. He recalled a time when there was no price cap on rice, and he welcomed the favorable changes in pricing.
Both Jaojao and Cale were hopeful that the NFA would further ease farmers' selling process by reducing the required moisture content for dry palay and adopting more aggressive purchasing of fresh palay.
They also suggested simplifying payment procedures and issuing cash payments instead of checks, which would alleviate farmers' logistical challenges.
NFA Acting Assistant Region 11 manager Floreena Lorainaon assured farmers attending the 16th National Rice Technology Forum in Digos, Davao del Sur, that guidelines for implementing the new NFA buying prices would be issued soon.
Lorainaon explained that, under the Rice Tariffication Law, the NFA can buy palay and rice to maintain the country's buffer stocks for up to 15 days, primarily for emergencies such as aiding calamity victims.
She also noted that the NFA could only pay in cash for up to 200 bags of 50 kilograms each due to limited resources.
The introduction of price caps for regular rice on 5 September, with P41 per kilogram for regular milled and P45 for well-milled rice, has reduced rice imports in local markets, which bodes well for local farmers.
The DA's Rice Industry Development revealed that the NFA is now purchasing rice harvests at farmgate prices ranging from P16 to P19 per kilogram for fresh palay and P19 to P23 for dry palay.
Undersecretary Leo Sebastian, head of DA-RID, emphasized that the increased NFA buying prices are now considered benchmarks for traders, ensuring that drastic price declines will be averted. This move by the government aims to bolster farmers' livelihoods and stabilize the rice market.
While torrential rains and strong winds in July and August took a toll on many farms across Central Luzon, Mindanao and the Visayas, some early harvesters have enjoyed remarkable profits.