Silos for 30-day buffer supply of rice, corn eyed
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand “Bongbong”Marcos Jr. ordered the Department of Agriculture (DA) to look at the possibility of using silos ( large storage structure that can hold bulk food products, including grains) for a 30-day buffer supply of rice and corn in the Philippines, Malacañang announced on Friday.
The President, who concurrently serves as the DA secretary, issued the order following a meeting with the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC).
PSAC recommended to Marcos Jr. that nationwide “mother-daughter” stations or a transport system wherein a central hub of food produce (mother) provides accessible stocks for smaller storages scattered strategically in the area (daughters).
“We should really look into it because it’s a successful program,” said Marcos Jr.
According to the Palace, the proposal would have 30 mother stations built across the country, with 10 daughters each.
“The stations will serve as a storage for rice and corn for buffer stocking for 30 days at any given time,” explained the Presidential Communications Office.
According to National Food Authority (NFA) Administrator Roderico Bioco, this would allow the agency to transition from providing physical stock to financial assistance for poor households.
“There has been an endeavor before to make this physical but NFA has not been able to transition to that physical stock and this is where we’re going to change as part of our transformation from that, when we buffer, we actually buffer for the poor,” Bioco told the President.
