Implementation of Palay Marketing Assistance for Sustainable Rice Supply and Price Stability

Abstract

As a newly implemented program of the National Food Authority (NFA), PALLGU was organized to help raise the buying price of palay and motivate farmers to sell to NFA. This study was conducted to determine the level of implementation of the PALLGU program as perceived by their farmer-beneficiaries and to find out their challenges encountered. This was particularly conducted to aid Roxas City in gaining insights from the result of the study towards ensuring a sustainable buffer rice supply. This study was descriptive and employed the mixed method, utilizing a validated and reliability tested researcher-made survey questionnaire translated to local dialect and conducted to 321 farmer-beneficiaries. Data were supplemented by interviews with 6 implementers from NFA and Local Government Units in Roxas City. The results revealed that farmer-beneficiaries perceived the PALLGU program as implemented as a whole and in terms of inputs, outputs, and mechanisms employed and that the challenges encountered as a whole and in terms of their profile was moderately challenged. These challenges acted as predictor of the perceived level of implementation of the PALLGU program and insights were focused on procurement procedures and requirements, provision of drying equipment/facilities during rainy season, and moving the buying station nearest to the farmers’ farm area or providing transportation support.