Rice farmers get P5.6 million cash assistance from DA

BUTUAN CITY, April 12 — Around 1,124 rice farmers from the Caraga region received the cash assistance under the Department of Agriculture’s – Rice Farmers Financial Assistance (RFFA) Program.

Each farmer received ₱5,000 financial support for their farm inputs, food, or anything they need for their families.

The program is intended for the rice farmers who are tilling 0.5 hectares to two hectares of land and registered in the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA).

For the municipality of Trento, Agusan del Sur 281 rice farmers have received the cash aid. For the province of Agusan del Norte, the municipality of Kitcharao has 343 beneficiaries and 500 qualified farmers for RTR’s second batch of recipients.

The direct cash transfer is intended to help farmers affected by the implementation of the rice tarrification law

Joseph M. Libres, 47, rice farmer from P-5 Barangay Humilog, RTR, Agusan del Norte said he will use the amount to buy food and if there still some he will also buy fertilizers for his one-hectare rice area.

“The cash assistance is a big help for my family and for my continuous production of local rice,” Libres said.

The release of the cash support is in close coordination with the Local Government Units.

In the region, a total of 2,529 rice farmers have been served by the program with total cash released worth ₱12.6 Million. The distribution of the cash aid continues until the 35,471 target eligible rice farmers in the region will receive financial assistance. (DA Caraga/PIA Caraga)

source https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1038687