News Details

DA Pushes to Restore NFA’s Buying Power to Support Corn, Rice Farmers

NPO

•

September 10, 2025

MANILA – The Department of Agriculture (DA) has called on lawmakers to reinstate the National Food Authority’s (NFA) authority to purchase corn and milled rice, a move seen to boost farmer incomes and stabilize food supply.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. stressed the urgency of the measure, citing corn’s critical role in the poultry and livestock industries—both central to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s vision of a food-secure Philippines.

“Corn is not just a rice substitute in the Visayas and Mindanao. It is the backbone of the country’s feed production for poultry and livestock,” Tiu Laurel said.

Data from the National Corn Program show that yellow corn accounts for about 62 percent of poultry feed and 46 percent of livestock feed. Despite having more than 1.1 million corn farmers nationwide, only 2.5 million hectares are currently devoted to corn production.

Agriculture Undersecretary for Operations and Agri-Fisheries Mechanization Roger Navarro noted that restoring NFA’s power to buy corn, especially during peak harvests, would help ensure fair farmgate prices for local producers.

The DA also urged lawmakers to revive NFA’s mandate to purchase milled rice through Rice Processing Systems (RPS), an initiative intended to protect farmers while addressing retail price hikes.

“We must make these multi-million-peso facilities work for the farmers they were meant to serve,” Tiu Laurel emphasized.

PNO News Team I PNA-PR