MANILA – To solve the National Food Authority’s storage problem, the Department of Agriculture considers setting up silos, or huge structures used to keep bulky grain materials.
Agriculture secretary Emmanuel Piñol is looking to upgrade the NFA’s “outdated” warehouse storage system.
The NFA needs additional storage for its current buffer stocks good for at least 60 days, Piñol said.
NFA administrator Jason Aquino said the agency’s existing warehouses could store stocks good for only 22 days.
Putting up silos where the NFA mainly buys palay, or unmilled rice, will increase the agency’s storage capacity, Piñol said.
It will also improve storage operations, allowing stored palay to be withdrawn first and thus ensuring the freshness of grains for milling, he added.
“The warehouse idea is outdated,” stressed Piñol. “If NFA will increase its stocks, we must modernize its storage system.”
Created in 1972 as the National Grains Authority, the NFA is tasked to provide adequate supply of affordable rice and corn while ensuring reasonable return rates for farmers.
Meanwhile Piñol confirmed that the NFA, the Philippine Coconut Authority, and the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority were back under the supervision of the Agriculture department. (PNA)
