Farmers and farmers’ cooperatives and organizations should register to be part of the United Nations World Food Programme’s (WFP) rice supplier in Mindanao, according to Sen. Francis Pangilinan.
“We support the call of the UN World Food Programme to expand its current vendor roster of qualified rice suppliers in Mindanao. Aside from the fact that it is easier to buy local, this will boost the income of our farmers,” Pangilinan said in a statement.
“[The WFP scheme] is a welcome initiative as this means that there is a sure buyer for their crop which will be purchased at a fair price. Local farmers will also help WFP in their peace-building initiatives.”
UN WFP on Tuesday published a call on Facebook for rice vendors, saying that it is looking to diversify its vendor roster of rice suppliers in Mindanao. This is in partnership with the UN Development Programme’s Support to Peacebuilding and Normalization (SPAN) Programme.
“When we were appointed food security chief and chairperson of the National Food Authority [NFA] in the last administration, WFP procured rice from the NFA to provide food aid to select communities in Mindanao. Ngayong mababa ang bilihan ng palay sa ilang mga lugar sa bansa partikular na sa Mindanao, lalong makakatulong ang pagpasok ng isa pang organisasyon na bibili sa kanila ng patas,” Pangilinan said.
The senator, whose daughter KC Concepcion has been UN WFP Philippines Ambassador Against Hunger since 2008, also congratulated UN WFP and its officials and staff for winning the Nobel Peace Prize.
“Congratulations to the WFP. We bore witness to their efforts through the years, and we are happy to see that they continue to support local rice farmers,” Pangilinan said.
The UN WFP has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2020 in recognition of its efforts in combating hunger, as well as for its contributions to peace-building efforts to eliminate hunger as a weapon of war and conflict.
Interested rice suppliers may access this form to register: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1WQu99AijOX7dWj8o6P23scBxzDw1geph.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the average farm-gate price of dry palay fell to a five-week low in the second week of September, as farmers have started harvesting their crop.
The average quotation of P17.12 per kilogram for unmilled rice during the period was 3 percent lower than the figure recorded in the previous week. However, the price was 5.81 percent higher than last year’s P16.18 per kg, based on PSA data.
PSA data showed that during the reference period only the regions of Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Central Visayas, and Eastern Visayas posted an average dry palay quotation that is higher than P17 per kg.