Farmers hit NFA over non-payment of palay deliveries

By Jerry Padilla

URDANETA CITY, Pangasinan — Farmers in the province assailed the National Food Authority last week for alleged failure to pay palay shipments they had delivered and sold to the grains agency.

Abono party-list Chairman Rosendo O. So who was informed of this by the farmers said NFA Administrator Jessup P. Navarro earlier announced the country has sufficient rice stocks for the next three months.

Navarro likewise said the stock will be further augmented by the coming harvest.

Navarro was also reported to have said that as of first week this month, NFA had some 18.7 million bags of rice which will be sufficient until the middle of this year.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics reported the government has a buffer stock of rice good until March and that with the harvest during the present cropping season, the national stock will be enough up to June, this year.

President Arroyo and Agriculture Secretary Arthur C. Yap had said palay procurement by the NFA is a continuing program to help farmers.

But the farmers in this province claimed the NFA has not yet paid their palay deliveries.

Abono party-list President Ponciano V. Onia Jr said that Abono has received reports that the NFA has not yet paid farmers in Bulacan for their palay deliveries valued at some P80 million; in eastern Pangasinan, P50 million; and western Pangasinan, P30 million.

The farmers said the Department of Agriculture might have already released the funds to the NFA, but Administrator Navarro might have withheld the release of the amounts to be paid to the farmers.

They noted reports the government is negotiating for rice importation. They said there is no need for rice imports as the country has enough rice stocks.