MANILA -- Malacañang on Wednesday supported the Department of Agriculture's call for the House of Representatives to allow the National Food Authority buy up to 20 percent of the supply of palay to influence market prices.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel in a statement urged lawmakers to pass legislation that would better empower the DA to address the decline in local rice prices, as he noted that the NFA, with its limited authority, cannot intervene effectively in the market.

“We are doing this with one hand tied behind our back. We need some of the NFA’s powers back—if not to the agency itself, then to the DA—to better address the challenges we face,” Secretary Laurel said. 

“The NFA also needs additional resources to buy a larger volume of palay—around 20 percent of the supply—to influence market prices.”

“Totoo po iyan. Maganda po sana po ‘no, mabigyan muli ng authority ang NFA, kasi nawalan po talaga sila ng power para po umangkat ng bigas,” Castro said in a Palace briefing.

The Palace official noted that the DA and the NFA are unable to go directly to farmers as they would first need to go through the Local Government Units.

“At sa ngayon po, sa lahat po ng gagawin po kasi po ng NFA at ng DA dapat munang dumaan sa LGU hindi po kasi nakakadiretso ang mga farmers; kung anuman po ang dapat na gawin, dadaan muna po sila sa LGU. Iyan po iyong medyo nagiging problema po o nagiging isyu po sa Department of Agriculture, ayon na rin po iyan kay Secretary Kik0. So, mas maganda po talaga na mas mabigyan po talaga ng power ang NFA,” she said.

The NFA currently buys dry and clean palay at P24 per kilo, and fresh and wet palay at P18/kg. The DA earlier denied a report that said some farmers had taken their own lives in despair over low palay prices.