Manila, April 22 -- The National Food Authority (NFA) on Tuesday assured adequate funds to buy more palay (unhusked rice) from local farmers amid the harvest season.

"So far this year, we've spent only PHP2.6 billion of the PHP14.6 billion available to us for palay procurement," NFA Administrator Larry Lacson said in a statement.

He said the available budget includes around PHP5.6 billion in carryover from 2024 unspent funds.

The remaining funds would be sufficient to buy 500,000 metric tons (MT) of palay, equivalent to 6.3 million bags of milled rice, Lacson added.

To date, the NFA is conducting infrastructure upgrades, including improvement of warehouses and handling facilities to ensure adequate capacity for its 15-day increased ta...