THE Provincial Government of Negros Occidental may start buying palay in October.

Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said Monday, September 23, that the Capitol will not directly buy palay from the local farmers but through the Community Multi-Purpose Cooperative (Capgem).

"The Province cannot directly buy from the farmers and it has to be from the accredited cooperative," he said.

Lacson said that after the approval of the Provincial Board of the P6-million Supplemental Budget for Palay procurement, it needs to be published so the buying may start in October.

About P5 million from the budget will be for buying palay, while the P1 million will be for the operating expenses.

The palay buying is in response to the Department of Agriculture's call to local government units to assist the farmers amid the low price of locally produced palay due to the Rice Tariffication Law.