The National Food Authority (NFA) has significantly increased the price it pays for palay and more than doubled the volume it can buy from individual farmers, a key policy move meant to lift farm earnings and build up government rice reserves as the country faces potential weather challenges from El Niño. The agency is now offering up to P30 per kilogram for clean and dry palay, with most branches nationwide implementing this rate and a minimum of P28 per kilogram, while raising the maximum purchase limit from 200 bags to as much as 500 bags per farmer every cropping season.
Under the new rules, the volume each grower can sell is calculated based on their cultivated area multiplied by the average yield in their province, capped at five hectares. Those farming three hectares may sell up to three times the local average yield, while growers with five hectares may sell the full 500 bags or more if local productivity is higher. Clean and dry palay, with a moisture content of 11 to 14 percent, commands the top price, while freshly harvested grain is priced lower at roughly P25 to P26 per kilogram, depending on moisture levels.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. explained that the twin adjustments are meant to give farmers fairer earnings and greater assurance that their harvest will have a steady buyer, encouraging them to keep planting even as El Niño threatens crop output. “We want our farmers to earn more from their labor and have greater confidence that there is a reliable market for their harvest. Even with a strong El Niño looming, we want to encourage them to keep planting because the country will need every kilogram of rice they can produce,” he said.
The expanded procurement program also supports the government’s Benteng Bigas Meron Na initiative and ensures emergency rice supplies are on hand during typhoons, droughts and other disasters. NFA Administrator Larry Lacson noted the agency aims to purchase 790,000 metric tons of palay this year and the same amount in 2027, backed by an additional P10 billion in available funding authorized by Secretary Tiu Laurel with the support of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. To reach remote farming communities, 150 custom mobile procurement trucks are being built, with deliveries expected starting December or early next year. Lacson urged farmers to take advantage of the program, noting it offers growers a fair price while helping the government keep rice affordable and available for all Filipinos.
