I.

National Food Authority was crafted with the intention of protecting

the interests of both rice farmers and consumers. As such, the
agency’s two primary mandates are to ensure food security and
stabilize the supply and price of rice, the primary grain in the
country.

II. Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon!

III. Before I proceed with my speech, allow me first to rebut one of the
points of the first affirmative speaker.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

IV. Let me proceed your Honors, as the first speaker of the Negative
side allow me to provide you with reasons on why it is NOT
NECESSARY to ABOLISH THE NATIONAL FOOD AUTHORITY.

V. I hinge this convicting on the following grounds:

VI. First, NFA is the only World Trade Organization accredited,

recognized, trading agency of the Philippines.

VII. Without it, it will be difficult to reap benefits provided by the only
intergovernmental organization that regulates international trade.

VIII. Second, NFA is the only agency mandated to help farmers sell
palay at a profit while making sure that the price of rice for the
Filipino consumer is affordable.

IX. Once NFA is abolished, private sectors will be free to import rice
from any source in whatever quantities leaving the farmers
vulnerable and no longer find rice farming a profitable undertaking.
Free trade alone marginalizes farmers.

X. Freer imports may cheapen prices benefitting consumers, but, will

affect farmers. This is because traders, having no loyalty to
production, prefer imports over buying from farmers. If farmers
 produce more, the resulting bigger supplies mean lower prices for
consumers. Unfortunately, in freer trade, middlemen freely meddle
with the trade-nexus by preferring margins over the interests of
consumers for cheaper prices and producers for bigger volumes.

XI. Lastly, instead of abolishing NFA there is a stronger call for

overhauling the agency for relevance.

XII. Abolishing the NFA is a knee-jerk stupid reaction. The government

still needs to manage buffer stocks for emergencies and price
stability.

XIII. Instead of wasting billions yearly on price and market intervention,

and still ineffective, overhaul NFA with new blood and programs and
spend on empowering farmers geared at production-enhancing
activities.
`
XIV. Farmers cannot fend for themselves. They need to be empowered
into cooperatives, and equipped with postharvest facilities, trucking,
logistics, agro-processing, etc., all on credit, but achieving volume
and quality production and deal directly with markets and eliminate
loan-sharks and layers of middlemen.

XV. We also need to stop procuring palay at a loss, the NFA can enter
into locked-in optional future purchase contracts, which we can call
“rice options.”

XVI. These are financial instruments or term insurances, paid to farmer

organizations and trader-miller-wholesalers, committed to deliver
stocks when the NFA exercises its option to demand future delivery.
The NFA spends little, but is assured of stocks, while still managing
buffer stocks without physically holding them.

XVII. Ladies and gentlemen, Your Honors, the people especially the
farmers need our help. Let us not forsake them. Let us not give them
reasons to give up on us.
Questions:

1. Just for clarification, it is your contention to abolish NFA as a whole?

Right?
2. Are you aware of economic theories?
3. Do you know Adam Smith?
4. Are you aware of his Free Market Theory?
5. Do you believe that it should apply in trading rice in the country?
6. Does this mean that the Philippines should solely rely on the invisible
hand?
7. Are you aware that according to the theory of invisible hand every
individual endeavor to employ his capital so that its produce may be
of greatest value?
8. Are you also aware that in Capitalism, the greater the capital the
greater the power you hold in the market?
9. How about the farmers with enough capital sometimes less, do you
believe that they can sway the market in their favor?