The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said Thursday that they will secure more than 20,000 bags of rice from the National Food Authority (NFA) to help farmers affected by the El Niño in Palawan.
Nerilyn Conde, NFA assistant provincial manager, said that the DSWD has already submitted a purchase order for an initial 2,600 bags allocated for the city of Puerto Princesa and Narra town.
“Meron kasi kaming ise-serve sa DSWD na tulong sa mga farmers affected by the El Niño, more than 20,000 bags so if ever ma-withdraw nila ‘yon, mangangailangan pa kami ng isang barko uli. Itong aming inventory na dumating noong June ay sapat ito hanggang August na distribution then itong dumating sa DSWD na instruction ng central,” Conde said.
She said there are around 5,200 farmers that could avail of the rice assistance in the province.
Conde said that each farmer is expected to receive one bag of rice per month for four months.
The NFA has a current stock of 27,174 sacks in its warehouse.
“Ang pag-withdraw ay upon payment, purchase order pa lang naman ‘yon. Ifo-forward pa lang nila sa kanilang regional office,” she added.
Conde also said that their current inventory is only sufficient until August because of the request of the DSWD.
The NFA is expecting another shipment of 20,000 imported rice bags on the last week of July or first week of August.
The shipment of imported rice is in compliance with Republic Act 11203 mandating the agency to distribute subsidized rice to the market until August.
