Bohol rice farmers receive aid from DA-7

Rice farmers in Bohol receive their cash assistance from the Department of Agriculture in Central Visayas. | DA-7 photo

LAPU-LAPU CITY, Philippines- Close to 20,000 rice farmers in the Province of Bohol received cash assistance under the Rice Farmers Financial Assistance (RFFA) from the Department of Agriculture in Central Visayas (DA-7) in May 2022.

Each rice farmer received a cash subsidy of P5,000.

Jake Madrio, DA-7 Agriculture Program Coordinating Officer of Bohol, said that more than P96 million was released to 42 municipalities of Bohol during the said month.

He added that the distribution of RFFA cash subsidy started in January 2022, but was temporarily suspended due to the election ban. The timing of the resumption aligns with the celebration of the farmers and fisherfolk month of May. 

“Now that the election is over, we resumed the distribution. Rice farmers who tills 2 hectares and below, duly registered in the Registry System for Basic Sector in Agriculture and whose names are in the computer-generated masterlists were able to claim their P5,000,” Mandrio said.

The RFFA is a direct cash transfer to qualified rice farmers, primarily as compensation for their projected income loss due to the drop in palay (unhusked rice) price.

Under the RFFA, farmers tilling two hectares or less will receive P5,000 in unconditional cash assistance.

The program sources its fund from the rice tariffs collected annually over the P10 billion allocated for the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF).

Madrio added that from the start of the distribution in January until this May (this year), a total of 49,379 rice farmers from the 46 municipalities of Bohol had already received their cash assistance with a total released amount of P248, 695,000.

/bmjo

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