DA Finalizing Bill on Empowered NFA

A draft bill restoring some of the powers of the National Food Authority (NFA), like selling rice in the commercial market and implementing a floor price on palay, is currently being finalized, according to the Department of Agriculture.

- By JASPER EMMANUEL ARCALAS

The DA said the proposed bill reflects a strategic recalibration of government policy, reinforcing its role in safeguarding food security and reviving the NFA's capacity to act decisively during periods of price volatility and supply disruptions.

"This is one of several measures House Speaker Martin Romualdez asked the DA to craft to help the government advance its food security agenda—particularly the program of President Marcos to sustain P20-per-kilo rice for vulnerable sectors through 2028," Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said.

The bill seeks to grant certain regulatory powers to the NFA to better manage buffer stocks, regulate rice distribution and marketing, set a floor price for palay, and support farmers', cooperatives and recipients of rice processing systems funded under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, according to the DA.