By Leilanie G. Adriano
Staff Reporter
LAOAG CITY—Over 2,000 rice farmers from Ilocos Norte received cash assistance worth PHP5,000 each on Monday courtesy of the Department of Agriculture.
The farmer-beneficiaries include those who were affected by low price of palay or un-milled rice due to the government’s Rice Tariffication Law. The first batch of Ilocano farmers came from Laoag, Bacarra, Badoc and Solsona.
In Ilocos Norte, the DA through the concerned local government units had identified a total of 19,000 beneficiaries of the Rice Farmer Financial Assistance Program.
During the distribution program held at the Ilocos Norte Centennial Arena, DA Regional Director Lucrecio Alviar Jr. said the cash assistance is unconditional.
“Hindi po ito pautang. Ito ay dagdag ayudang pinansyal para sa mga Ilokanong magsasaka,” Mr. Alviar told farmers.
Under the directive of the Duterte administration, the DA, the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP), and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) signed a memorandum of agreement last December 2019, which set aside Php3 billion for the RFFA program to benefit around 600,000 rice farmers nationwide. The eligible farmers till between one and a half to two hectares.
“We are thankful for the cash assistance. This will help us in our needs,” said Robert Jose as he is one of the first beneficiaries who withdrew the amount through a mobile Automated Teller Machine of the LANDBANK.
The initial funding for the said program came from excess government revenue.
This year, another PHP3 billion will be allocated to the program, to be divided equally between LBP and DBP to disburse to 300,000 rice farmers each.
Funding for next year will be sourced from tariff collections in excess of the Php10 billion required to finance the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF).