PILI, Camarines Sur --- Other than the verbal assaults they are getting for implementing “anti-farmer” policies, Officer-in-Charge Edgar Bentulan of the National Food Authority (NFA) in Bicol and NFA Provincial Manager Danilo Nieves of Camarines Sur face the eventuality that they would lose their present work assignments and assigned elsewhere.

        This, after the 22,000-strong Camarines Sur Confederation of Irrigators Association and the Bicol Region Confederation of Irrigators Association have began campaigning for Bentulan and Nieves’ ejectment from their present posts in the region.

        Farmer-leader Silvestre Bonto said the farmers are calling for the ouster of two NFA officials because of certain policies that are not consistent with President Arroyo’s directive to encourage farmers to sell their produce to NFA.

        He said the local farmers are now campaigning for a petition-complaint signing that they are going to send to Secretary Arthur Yap of the Department of Agriculture and to President Arroyo for appropriate and urgent action.

        Bonto explained the farmers’ displeasure began after Bentulan and Nieves imposed policies that are “insignificant” like the one that requires them to secure a sort of clearance or certification from the Municipal Agriculture Officers (MAOs) before they could sell/deliver their palay to NFA.

        He said farmers and irrigators did not see the significance of the policy because the NFA keeps a master list of farmer-irrigators who are certified by MAOs as legitimate farmers and are also recognized by the National Irrigation Administration (NIA).

        The policy, according to Bonto, would only cause delays in their transactions at NFA, give them additional burden which “made the life of the farmers even more miserable.”

        NFA Warehouse Supervisor Ray Magnaye, concurrent Public Information Officer, reasoned out that NFA has been observing strict implementation of its policies and regulations to ensure that the agency is dealing with legitimate farmers and not palay or rice traders and businessmen.

        Magnaye also said that if the complaining parties are legitimate farmers, it would be good if they would just abide by the rules.