The National Food Authority (NFA) Council will meet next week to discuss how to make the price of unhusked rice or palay more competitive for the local farmers.

"Actually there will be a meeting on April 11, next NFA Council meeting and they will discuss how the NFA will be more competitive in acquiring palay," Assistant Agriculture Secretary Arnel de Mesa said during the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City.

As part of the government's effort to increase the income of farmers, the National Food Authority (NFA) Council recently increased the buying prices for unhusked rice to P19 to P23 per kilogram for dry palay and P16 to P19 per kilogram for wet palay.

De Mesa assures that despite the closure of some warehouse due to the suspension of around 140 NFA officials and employees, there are other warehouses in the country that can accomodate palay that are supposed to stock in the warehouse affected by the closure.

"The warehouse that remains closed is still at 97... There are more than 288 warehouses nationwide. So, the other warehouse can accommodate the others that were closed and actually the exposure of NFA in the market in the overall trade is only 5% and most of that was bought by the traders," he said. Robina Asido/DMS