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Friday, February 21, 2003
NFA defends rice import policy
THE National Food Authority (NFA) has justified its implementation of the Farmers Importation Program in response to questions raised by Congressmen Ben Cruz and Ted Failon.
The lawmakers earlier scored NFA for its "anti-farmer" policies with its first-come-first served method of reserving rice import volumes by farmers and the fact that farmers have to open letters of credit through the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP).
In a press statement dated February 5, NFA said they adopted the first-come-first-serve basis because the government wants a fair play in the allocation of amounts.
It added that the palay farmer-based organizations must participate in the program "like any Land Bank client," the statement said.
The letter of credit through LBP is necessary to monitor the volume of rice that is imported into the country and avoid flooding the market with rice "to the detriment of our farmers."
The letter of credit also provides a paper trail to combat smuggling,
NFA said.
The statement stressed that the Farmers Importation Program is landmark achievement since "after 30 years, NFA's monopoly to import rice was broken."
With the implementation of the program, the agency is "being challenged to lend its resources and buying capacity to increase domestic productivity and procurement."
The statement urged for the resolution of the issues "in a spirit of partnership and cooperation."
(February 21, 2003 issue)
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