Iligan City rice enough despite low NFA stock

ILIGAN CITY (25 Feb 2018) - Local and national government authorities here allayed the fears of some sectors about the possibility of a rice shortage in spite the low stock as admitted by the local National Food Authority (NFA).

Rosita Tabugo, NFA stock manager, said the Iligan warehouse has about 3,000 sacks of rice that occupies less than half the space of the entire stockroom in Barangay Tipanoy.

"There is a need to boost our stock, but we are awaiting a significant infusion from the national office anytime," Tabugo said.

With the current stock, the NFA will provide 10 bags of rice per day to each of the 75 active accredited rice retailers in Iligan who would need NFA support, according to officer-in-charge Sambitory Dimaporo.



Some sectors have expressed apprehension at the low NFA stock that they think has reached an alarming level.

But Iligan City Agriculture Office director Octavius Molo said there are many retailers who still have a lot of commercial rice stocks.

"These retailers do not have to depend on the NFA alone since they have their own sources," Molo added.

The coastal towns of Lanao del Norte, particularly Maigo, Lala and Kapatagan are high producers of quality rice.

Lanao del Norte has been lauded as one of the top rice producers of 2016 and is vying for the rice Achievers Award at the AIM Conference Center in Makati. [Ted Khan Juanite, The Manila Times]