By Madelaine B. Miraflor The Department of Agriculture (DA) said it will forge ties with local government units (LGUs) to ensure unhampered delivery of food supplies to communities during the coronavirus-triggered lockdown in Luzon. As this happened, the National Food Authority (NFA) already completed the pre-positioning of rice stocks for disbursement in strategic areas in Metro Manila. The DA is particularly proposing a two-mode distribution system with LGUs where the agency will help find suppliers to the food requirements of residents of areas affected by the lockdown, a measure imposed by the Philippine government in order to contain the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Once an agreement is made, the two parties will undertake the new Kadiwa distribution scheme. DA Assistant Secretary Kristine Evangelista explained that the initiative aims to provide cities and municipalities food supplies based on the specific food requirement and volume identified by the LGUs. Under mode 1, the DA will facilitate the linkage of LGUs to food producers as well as the delivery of identified products. The LGUs, for their part, will sort and pack the items, and deliver to the households. Under mode 2, DA will facilitate the LGU-identified producers’ linkage and delivery of items to identified drop-off points including the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) in Malate, Manila; Food Terminal Inc. in Taguig City; and the DA Central Office in Quezon City. The LGUs needing supplies will then pick-up the items from the said drop-off points then deliver to consumers after sorting and packing. Evangelista added that the LGUs will have the option to deliver the food items through an order system so that there will be little physical interaction between the LGUs and the consumers. On rice supply, NFA said that the prepositioned rice stocks are now set for delivery and disbursement in strategic areas in Metro Manila. In a report to Agriculture Secretary William Dar, NFA Administrator Judy Carol Dansal said that the grains agency has enough rice at hand to meet requirement of the National Capital Region for the next two weeks, with more supply readily available depending on the demand. The NFA currently has 400,000 bags (50 kilograms per bag) or 20,000 metric tons (MT) of rice in its warehouses around Metro Manila. Based on NFA data, Metro Manila consumes an average of 110,000 bags (50 kilograms) of rice daily, with NFA’s market participation pegged only at 7 percent since the Rice Tariffication Law removed the state run agency’s regulatory powers last year. The private sector (local and imported) and household inventories are believed to have the remaining 93 percent of the rice inventory. Dansal said that they expect NFA’s market share to increase by 20 percent once LGUs started buying their rice requirement from government-owned warehouses due to the enhanced community quarantine imposed in Metro Manila. “We are prioritizing local government units for the sale of NFA rice,” Dansal said, noting that they are now working on the payment scheme for interested LGUs.