April 12, 2025

DA-PhilRice and the NFA recently conducted a pre-planning session for the upcoming rollout of the Bantay Palay App. This Android-based application is designed to streamline ground-level data collection by capturing palay prices by variety—including both farmgate and dry prices—as well as milled rice prices, categorized into well-milled and regular-milled rice.

In March, DA-PhilRice and the NFA signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to enhance nationwide rice price data collection through NFA’s field personnel. With staff strategically deployed across the country, the NFA can provide timely and real-time data directly from the farm level.

This collaboration merges PhilRice’s technological innovations with the NFA’s on-the-ground presence, creating a more reliable system for monitoring the rice industry and enabling more effective rice sector management. Ultimately, this initiative benefits both farmers and consumers.