Doha:Eastern Pangasinan The National Food Authority (NFA) in Eastern Pangasinan currently maintains a buffer stock consisting of 300,000 50-kilo bags of unhusked rice and 54,000 bags of clean rice, as reported by an official on Monday.

According to Philippines News Agency, Frederick Dulay, the branch manager of NFA Eastern Pangasinan, stated that the existing stock could sustain the province's population for a duration of 10 days. He emphasized that this supply pertains solely to the reserves in their storage facilities and does not account for the rice available in the market, aside from government rice.

Dulay also mentioned that the agency has been actively purchasing palay (unhusked rice) from local farmers since the first week of October. The NFA is offering PHP30 per kilo for clean, dry Class A palay and PHP27.30 per kilo for Class B. Purchase orders have been distributed to farmers, signaling the NFA's intent to acquire their produce.

In addition, Dulay expressed openness to local government units adding a premium to the current palay buying price to further incentivize farmers to sell to the NFA. He also conveyed hopes that the El Niño phenomenon will not significantly impact rice supply in the coming months, noting Eastern Pangasinan's reputation as one of the country's leading rice-producing provinces.