A new executive order (EO) mandating a floor price for palay purchases by government entities will have little impact on farmers and may only complicate the process of setting buying prices, according to the head of a local farmers group.
Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) chair Leonardo Montemayor, a former agriculture secretary, said the measure’s coverage is limited to national government agencies and local government units (LGUs), whose combined purchases make up no more than five percent of total palay production.
‘Because their share is very small, they will not influence private traders to raise palay buying prices,’ Montemayor told The STAR.
He added that the creation of a price-setting committee to determine the floor price could lead to bureaucratic delays.
‘Price setting by committee is a formula for delayed decision-making,’ he said.
Montemayor also noted that most LGUs and government agencies apart from the National Food Authority (NFA) lack the facilities, manpower and funding to procure palay directly from farmers.
‘Effectively, the EO is unnecessary because the NFA will still be the main buyer,’ he said.
‘Its buying price is already set by the NFA Council and approved by the president, so there’s no need for a separate price-setting committee,’ Montemayor added.
The FFF chief said further that the measure’s impact will not be felt immediately since most of the main cropping season harvest has already been completed.
‘The earliest that the floor price will benefit some farmers will be during the dry season harvest in February to March 2026,’ Montemayor said.
In contrast, the Department of Agriculture (DA) defended the two executive orders, saying they aim to provide stability and predictable income for farmers and fisherfolk.
‘These EOs should bridge that gap in product pricing and marketing that have kept our food producers, especially those at the margins, from fully enjoying the fruits of their hard work,’ Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said in a statement on the same day.
President Marcos signed EO 100 last Oct. 25, establishing a floor price for palay and setting trigger mechanisms for its implementation