THE National Food Authority (NFA) in Negros Occidental on Sunday, October 7, has opened another “tagpuan” outlet at Barangay Ma-ao in Bago City selling the P27 per kilogram government rice.
This is the eighth outlet opened in the province since September this year.
Others are in Barangay Busay also in Bago City, Barangay Poblacion in San Enrique, and Barangays Sum-ag, Granada, Banago, Singcang-Airport and Felisa in Bacolod City.
Frisco Canoy, provincial manager of NFA-Negros Occidental, on Monday, October 8, said they distributed an initial allocation of 20 bags benefiting about 500 residents.
Canoy said like other “tagpuan” outlets in the province, the one in Barangay Ma-ao also allows each consumer to buy up to two kilograms of “cheaper yet quality” government rice.
“This is part of the NFA’s measures to strengthen the presence of P27 per kilogram government rice amid its limited supply in the province,” he said, adding that the efforts aim to benefit especially those under the marginalized sector.
The agency earlier said it is sustaining the "Tagpuan Rice Responsible Delivery" Program, which is in collaboration with the Grains Retailers Confederation (Grecon) in Negros Occidental.
"Tagpuan" means a place where people normally converge like outside portion of the markets and barangay halls, and other public places.
Despite the current limited stocks of NFA rice in the province, the agency continues to allocate supply to “tagpuan” outlets so these can operate once a week.
The 20 bags per outlet are on top of the regular allocation it distributes to accredited and stationary rice retail outlets.
As of October 8, the province’s remaining buffer is about 6,000 bags based on the inventory of NFA-Negros Occidental.
Canoy, however, said that with the impending augmentation of 10,000 bags from Iloilo, they can still cater to both accredited retail and “tagpuan” outlets.
Though, distribution for accredited NFA rice outlets is still controlled as buffer stocks are being stretched until the additional importation arrives.
Canoy said the initial allocation in every “tagpuan” outlet may still increase depending on the availability of supply. “When our stocks increase, we can also distribute more.”
In fact, NFA-Negros Occidental continues to accept the application from other retailers in the province interested to sell through “tagpuan” on top of their regular market outlets.
One of the major guidelines set is the existence of the market day. This is to give other consumers, especially those from far-flung areas and those who are going to the market once a week only, the chance to also avail the P27 per kilogram rice.
“Applications submitted to the office are now subject to assessment and verification,” he said, stressing that more outlets would make affordable rice more accessible to the consumers.