Friday, July 18, 2008 Effective delivery of NFA rice stressed
WHILE most of the provinces in the Cordillera have their National Food Authority (NFA) supply offices in areas outside the region, what is vital is the effective delivery of rice to these areas.
Presidential Assistant for Cordillera Thomas Killip said although the offices of the NFA may be distant from the provinces, this does not compromise the delivery of rice supplies to the concerned areas.
"For as long as there are no complaints on lack of NFA rice, we are assured the delivery is effective," Killip said as he explained the long queues on NFA retail outlets is not a sign of rice shortage.
Government said the long lines on NFA retailers are not due to the lack of supply of the staple, but these are caused by the high prices of commercial rice.
Except for Benguet whose NFA regional office is located in Baguio, the other provinces have their offices in the Ilocos and Cagayan Valley regions.
Killip owed this to the fact that provinces in the Cordillera, except for Kalinga, are not rice-growing areas.
He said while it may be true the NFA regional offices are far from the provinces, what matters is the effective delivery of the staple from the regional warehouses.
Mountain Province Governor Maximo Dalog earlier asked for the establishment of an NFA warehouse in Bauko to make supply of rice nearer to the locality. The province, together with Kalinga, has its NFA regional office in Isabela.
