Pangilinan to rice farmers: Register to be part of WFP's roster of suppliers in Mindanao

BOOSTING the call of the United Nations' food arm, Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan encourages farmers and farmers cooperatives and organizations to register to be part of the World Food Programme's (WFP) rice supplier roster in Mindanao.

"We support the call of the UN World Food Programme to expand its current vendor roster of qualified rice suppliers in Mindanao. Bukod sa mas madaling bumili sa lokal, malaking dagdag din ito para sa ating mga magsasaka," Pangilinan said Thursday.

"Masaya ito para sa ating mga magsasaka dahil sigurado na may bibili ng kanilang mga inaning bigas sa patas na presyo. Matutulungan pa natin ang WFP sa kanilang mga peace-building initiatives," he added.

UN WFP on Tuesday published a call on Facebook for rice vendors, saying that it is looking to diversify its vendor roster of rice suppliers in Mindanao. This is in partnership with the UN Development Programme's Support to Peacebuilding and Normalization (SPAN) Programme.

"When we were appointed food security chief and chairperson of the National Food Authority (NFA) in the last administration, WFP procured rice from the NFA to provide food aid to select communities in Mindanao. Ngayong mababa ang bilihan ng palay sa ilang mga lugar sa bansa partikular na sa Mindanao, lalong makakatulong ang pagpasok ng isa pang organisasyon na bibili sa kanila ng patas," Pangilinan said.

The senator, whose daughter KC Concepcion has been UN WFP Philippines Ambassador Against Hunger since 2008, also congratulated UN WFP and its officials and staff for winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

"Congratulations to the WFP. Kaisa nila kami sa paniwalang merong kapayapaan kung walang gutom. We bore witness to their efforts through the years, and we are happy to see that they continue to support local rice farmers.," Pangilinan said.

The UN WFP has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2020 in recognition of its efforts in combating hunger, as well as for its contributions to peace-building efforts to eliminate hunger as a weapon of war and conflict.

Interested rice suppliers may access this form to register: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1WQu99AijOX7dWj8o6P23scBxzDw1geph