CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (PIA)--Local farmers of Lanao del Norte and Misamis Occidental provinces shall benefit government programs anew as the National Food Authority (NFA) is set to sit with local chief executives of the different cities and municipalities including the provincial government units to discuss the Palay Marketing Assistance Program for Legislators and Local Government Units (PALLGU).

NFA Lanao del Norte Acting Branch Manager Ma. Chere M. Buyante convened the Operations Coordination and Finance Departments of the Branch Office, July 13, to discuss in detail the contents of the Revised Standard Operating Procedures for PALLGU.

Although the said program had been in place since 2005, Buyante is determined to revitalize it so that it will finally be implemented and benefit local farmers. While it is an NFA-established program that enables farmers to increase their profits, its implementation depends on the legislators and LGUs’ level of support.

Under the program, the legislators or heads of LGUs shall enter into a marketing agreement with NFA where the former shall provide a premium amount, which shall be added to the existing government buying price of palay currently pegged at P19 per kilogram, when buying the stocks from Individual Farmers/Farmers’ Organizations.

The NFA will do its best to educate, promote, encourage, and eventually convince legislators and LGUs to enter into PALLGU with NFA to contribute to the government’s initiatives on agricultural revolution, Buyante said.

A series of farmers’ ugnayan and courtesy visits to newly elected local government officials shall occupy NFA-LNO BO’s calendar of activities as arranged during the meeting. The same is true with the case of other NFA Branch Offices in the entire Region 10. (NFA-10/PIA-10)