By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas & Cai U. Ordinario
Contrary to the sentiment of his fellow lawmakers and economists, the chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture and Food is not keen on abolishing the National Food Authority (NFA).
Rep. Jose T. Panganiban of Anac-IP party-list said in a radio interview on Sunday that the food agency is “vital” in regulating rice imports after the quantitative restriction (QR) on the staple is converted into tariffs.
“Since we are nearing the passage of the Rice Tariffication Act, which would mean free importation by traders, what would NFA do? They will be a purely regulatory agency,” Panganiban said.
Under the House of Representatives-approved House Bill (HB) 7735, or the Revised Agricultural Tariffication Bill, Panganiban said the NFA would continue to issue import permits in a post-QR regime.
“This is our staple, so we cannot fully liberalize [the rice industry]. We would still need the licensing function and accreditation function of the NFA,” he said. “The quota allocations would be scrapped. But we cannot remove the licensing and accreditation function of the NFA.”
Amid calls for the resignation of Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol and NFA Administrator Jason Y. Aquino, Panganiban said the two need not resign.
“When it comes to Secretary Piñol, he is doing his job well. When it comes to NFA Administrator Aquino, I think [he] just lacked proper coordination with the NFA Council,” he added.
In fact, Panganiban said one of the bills that his committee is currently reviewing seeks to review and strengthen the role of the NFA in a post-QR regime.
“The law creating the NFA was passed in 1972. So, that law is not anymore adaptive to the needs of our times now,” he said. “That is why there is a need to revisit that law.”
Rice imports
Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said the government must import rice immediately to boost supply and arrest the continuous spike in prices.
“Right now, the more important thing is to be able to import rice and make it arrive before October,” Arroyo said in an ambush interview, following the inauguration of the school building for the Aeta community in Porac, Pampanga on Friday.
Panganiban said the depletion of the NFA’s rice buffer stock could be attributed to the “misunderstanding” between its management and the NFA Council.
“When the NFA Council approved the importation it was too late already as the imports were scheduled to arrive by June. And what the council overlooked was that June is typhoon season and it is what we are experiencing right now, [NFA] cannot unload the shipments,” he added.
Former Agriculture Chief William Dar said the timing of the arrival of the country’s rice imports is crucial in ensuring that the supply and prices are stable.
“The timing of the decision to import is very important. It is the importation of rice and the positioning of the imports [that are crucial],” Dar, InangLupa Movement Inc. president, said in a radio interview on Sunday.
“We had a problem with that [this year]. Our importation was late. And due to the perceived lack of NFA supply, prices went up,” Dar added.
Dar pointed out that it is important that the NFA Council, the highest policy-making body of the NFA, make an “informed” decision, which, he said, should be based on historical data.
“It cannot be just guesses. Using the historical performance of our agriculture sector and our current population, the shortfall in our local production is around 5 to 8 percent,” he said.
“You should consider that. Even the minimum level should be planned for importation before the start of the year. You should make the decision before the start of the year so that you have to figure out when will the imports arrive and position the stocks carefully,” he added.