By Brian Campued
In line with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to modernize the country’s agricultural system, the National Food Authority (NFA) on Friday launched the 1-tonner bagging system to expedite palay procurement and increase warehouse capacity.
The pilot rollout was held at the NFA warehouse in Nueva Ecija alongside simultaneous launches in Occidental Mindoro and Davao del Sur.
NFA Administrator Larry Lacson said that through upgrading NFA’s storage capacity, they would be able to improve their services to local farmers and address post-harvest losses.
“We don’t stop in finding ways on how to efficiently use our warehouse dahil ang hinaing talaga ng ating mga magsasaka ay puno ang bodega,” Lacson stressed.
“With this system, nadagdagan ka ng 25% capacity… wala kang pinatayong warehouse, nadagdagan ka [pa] ng capacity,” he added.
He noted that at least P1.1 million to P1.3 million in savings could be achieved in just one warehouse with a 60,000-bag capacity, which may be used to buy more palay as well as for milling and drying.
The tonner bags or flexible intermediate bulk containers are capable of holding at least 12 sacks of rice, reducing storage and transport costs.
The NFA currently spends around P15 per printed sack and additional cost per bag for labor, with one warehouse capable of storing up to 55,440 bags of 50-kilo rice.
The tonner bags are also designed to be airtight to help preserve grain quality.
“Mas makapal ‘yung palibot n’yan, mas nape-preserve ang quality, actually. ‘Yung fluctuation ng moisture content n’yan hindi gaano, kasi makapal—lesser ang effect ng moisture ng environment sa kaniya,” Lacson explained.
Aside from introducing a new bagging system, the NFA is also targeting to increase its drying facilities from the current 12% to 100% in its warehouses across the country.
Meanwhile, the NFA said that it can begin purchasing storm-damaged palay from local farmers within the month to prevent exploitation by traders.
Depending on the quality after milling, the rice may be auctioned or distributed to government programs, such as the “Benteng Bigas Meron (BBM) Na” initiative or family food packs of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). (with report from Vel Custodio / PTV News)
-jpv
