MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government has enough rice buffer stock to support the population for 9.36 days, the National Food Authority (NFA) said on Tuesday, April 15.
NFA Administrator Larry Lacson said there are currently 358,000 metric tons of rice, which is the equivalent of 7.16 million sacks of rice.
“Ang ibig pong sabihin niyan, ito po ay magla-last ‘no, ng 9.36 days kaya pong pakainin ang buong Pilipinas ng mahigit siyam na araw,” he said at a press briefing in Malacañang.
(What that means is it will last for 9.36 days, enough to feed the entire Philippines for more than nine days.)
He also mentioned that the government is “on track” with its food security goals as the Department of Agriculture (DA) continues to work to increase the country’s buffer stock for rice.
Citing the amendment to the Rice Tariffication Law, Lacson said the buffer stock will eventually be raised to 15 days.
“So, from 9.36 ihi-hit natin iyong 15 days hangga’t mayroon po tayong pambili ng palay sa mga magsasaka,” he added. (So, from 9.36, we will extend it to 15 days as long as we have funds to buy rice from the farmers.)
Since the NFA sources its supply from local farmers, Lacson reported that it purchased 2.2 million bags of palay in the first quarter of 2025, from January 1 to March 31, totaling P2.6 billion.
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