By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Following a recent report by the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) that projected prices for locally-produced palay, or rice, will see a continuous drop, Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said he will call a meeting next week with OPA officials and his legal team in order to discuss how to address the problem.
According to Lacson, they will try to work on a solution for rice farmers and will coordinate with officials from the National Food Authority (NFA). The governor said one option they are considering is to convince the NFA to add “at least a few pesos” when they purchase palay from farmers.
He pointed out, the option is currently being practiced in the province of Isabela, wherein the NFA reportedly added at least P1 when purchasing from local farmers.
OPA head, Atty. Japhet Masculino said, if there is no intervention by the local government, prices will proceed to go down.
“The average farm gate price of palay continued to decrease to P13 to P14 per kilo from P18 to P20 per kilo,” he explained.
The provincial official said the Department of Agriculture is currently looking into ways to assist farmers affected by the falling prices./DGB, WDJ