The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Monday underscored the need to restore the National Food Authority’s (NFA) regulatory powers to help enforce the floor price of palay (unhusked rice) and protect local farmers from unscrupulous traders.

The DA made the statement amid an ongoing study on possible legal ways to set a floor price under the Price Act, Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Law, and other enabling laws.

The floor price, which refers to a state-imposed minimum price for goods or services, must at least cover the production cost of palay farmers, according to DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr.

“Seriously na pinag-aaralan natin iyong sa DA iyan at naghahanap kami ng legal avenues para ma-implement ito (we are studying that in DA and we are looking for legal avenues to implement this) if possible,” he said in an ambush interview.

Tiu Laurel said the regulatory powers of NFA will help secure the registry of both farmers and traders in the country, which will be beneficial for monitoring.

“Kailangan din iyong lahat ng retailers at traders ay kailangan by law mag-register sa NFA para makontrol lahat sila at makita natin (We need that all retailers and traders, by law, to register in the NFA so that we can control and monitor them),” he said.

“Sa ngayon, talagang bulag kami sa NFA kung sino-sino mga ito. So parang it’s a cat and mouse game kasi by law hindi na required. So, kailangan iyon na iyong regulatory powers ng NFA kailangan maibalik (For now, we are blinded in the NFA who are these [traders]. So, it’s like a cat-and-mouse game because by law, they are not required. So, that’s why there’s a need for the regulatory powers of the NFA to be restored).”

Besides these, the restoration of NFA powers may also allow them to sell in local markets for market intervention to protect consumers from spiking retail prices.

To date, NFA’s function is now limited to palay procurement to secure the country’s national rice buffer stock for disasters and calamities.

The NFA is only allowed to release its aging and soon-to-age rice stocks under the declaration of food security emergency for rice, auction, and the ongoing PHP20 per kilogram rice program under the “Benteng Bigas Meron Na” for the vulnerable sector. (PNA)