NFA: Typhoon Juan to damage P1.53B worth of palay

Super typhoon Juan could damage some P1.53 billion worth of rice crop in Isabela, the country’s second top rice-producing province, an official of the National Food Authority (NFA) said Monday. NFA administrator Angelito Banayo said that in the worst-case scenario more than 1.8 million bags of palay in Isabela will likely be damaged. October is the peak harvest season in Cagayan and Isabela, and the super typhoon has begun to wreak havoc on the food supply of these provinces. As of 4 p.m. Monday, about 15,000 sacks of rice in two NFA warehouses in Isabela were destroyed by the typhoon. So far, damages were estimated at P15 million. As power supply and communications were crippled in Isabela, the NFA will resume assessing the storm’s damage Tuesday. On Sunday, Isabela was placed under storm signal No. 4, the highest since 2006 when tropical cyclone Reming killed more than 700 people and damaged property worth over P5 billion. As of this posting, the province was placed under signal No. 3. Dubbed the “Rice Granary of the North," Isabela is the second highest rice-producing province in the country next to Nueva Ecija. Keep rice affordable The NFA also urged palay buyers in the storm-affected provinces not to lower the buying price so as not to place farmers and consumers at a disadvantage. Banayo said farmers would not be able to recoup their investments “if private palay traders would offer a much lower buying price at this time." Banayo urged traders to help the government keep the price of rice affordable for consumers. “Simply maintaining a continuous flow of rice in the market would assure price stability," he said in a statement. On the contrary, any attempt by rice retailers to hoard will push prices up, Banayo explained. The NFA chief assured the public that the agency has enough inventory and is “always ready" to sell rice to preempt unwarranted price hikes. A total of 37.5 million bags, enough for 52 days, is in stock to meet the country’s food security requirements. NFA rice at P25 per kilogram is always available at Bigasan sa Palengke outlets and accredited retailers, he said. Banayo instructed NFA field officials to help retailers and facilitate rice withdrawals to speed up the flow of the commodity in the market. The NFA will continuously release rice to relief agencies and local government units operating in typhoon affected areas. — DM/VS, GMANews.TV