The National Food Authority (NFA) is expanding its role in the rice sector, posting record palay procurement, raising buying prices, and building its largest buffer stock in years as the Marcos administration seeks to strengthen food security while boosting farmers’ incomes.
The agency is also preparing another price increase. This wet season, the NFA plans to raise its minimum buying price for palay to P21 per kilogram from P17 to help farmers cope with higher production costs, sustain planting ahead of the expected El Niño, and secure adequate domestic rice supplies.
The move builds on the agency’s Price Range Scheme, under which the NFA has been buying clean and dry palay at PHP23 to P30 per kilogram and wet palay at a base price of PHP23 per kilogram since April 2024. The minimum buying price for fresh or wet palay was set at PHP17 a kilo.
The strategy has delivered record results. The NFA purchased 443,620 metric tons (MT) of palay in 2024, benefiting 60,612 farmers nationwide. It followed that up with another 420,013 MT in 2025, purchased from 72,776 farmers, reflecting broader participation in the government’s procurement program.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr., who chairs the NFA Council, said stronger government buying creates a ripple effect across the rice industry.
“When we buy more palay at fair and competitive prices, we improve farmers’ incomes while securing rice supplies for Filipino families. Supporting our rice farmers is the foundation of long-term food security,” Tiu Laurel said.
Competitive government buying has also prompted private traders to raise their own buying prices, giving farmers stronger bargaining power during harvest season.
The NFA has backed the procurement drive by leasing 65 warehouses nationwide, bringing buying stations closer to remote farming communities. It also opened a P355.4-million modern grains center in Dumangas, Iloilo, boosting drying, milling, and storage capacity.
Those efforts pushed government rice reserves to 460,731 MT in November 2025, comfortably above the agency’s 300,000-MT buffer stock requirement.
NFA Administrator Larry Lacson said maintaining robust inventories has become increasingly critical as climate risks intensify.
“Strong buffer stocks allow us to respond immediately to typhoons, floods, earthquakes, and other emergencies. They also ensure rice remains available for government food programs and strengthen the country’s food security,” Lacson said.
The larger inventories have also helped fulfill one of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s key campaign promises by supplying rice for the targeted P20-per-kilo rice program, or Benteng Bigas, Meron Na!
Meanwhile, the NFA continues to modernize its storage network, with one new warehouse completed, 35 under construction, and 89 warehouse rehabilitation projects finished.
For the grains agency, bigger buffer stocks now serve a broader purpose of protecting farmers, stabilizing markets, supporting disaster response, and keeping affordable rice within reach of Filipino consumers. ###
