NFA Opens 24 More Bigasang Bayan Outlets in Negros Occidental

Bacolod City (PNA) – The National Food Authority (NFA) has set up 24 additional Bigasang Bayan outlets in Negros Occidental, including Bacolod City, to make NFA rice more accessible to more people.

Provincial manager Procopio Trabajo III said that in the province, they opened 11 more outlets – from 88 to 99 at present while in Bacolod, 13 more – from 16 and there are now 29 outlets in the city.

The NFA’s move is in response to the clamor of Negrenses to buy more NFA rice but there are limited outlets.

NFA regular milled rice is sold at P27 per kilogram and its well-milled, at P32 per kilogram.

Members of the militant urban poor group Kadamay had earlier held a rally outside the NFA office and warehouse and lambasted the food agency for its limited stocks and inaccessible outlets for the poor.

The group claimed that NFA outlets would sell only a maximum of two kilos of rice.

Kadamay, through its Secretary General Berlita Ante, also claimed that they would have to spend additional transportation expenses in going to major public markets to buy NFA rice because they cannot locate the outlets in their respective barangays.

With the high cost of the staple food nowadays, Kadamay said that they prefer to buy the cheaper NFA rice.

In early July, the NFA released 10,000 sacks of well-milled rice to their distributors in Negros Occidental in wake of the rising prices of commercial rice.

“This will add to the current rice supply in the market and provide quality but cheaper choice for consumers,” Trabajo said. (PNA)
CTB/NLG/TDE