Over 44k rice farmer beneficiaries in Region 12 get cash aid from DA
AGRICULTURE • 15:30 PM Wed Jul 8, 2020
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DA NEWS RELEASE
Distribution of cash and rice aid to farmers in Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat
KORONADAL CITY - The Department of Agriculture (DA 12) has already disbursed more than PhP223-million of its Rice Farmers’ Financial Assistance (RFFA) fund after distributing this financial aid to 44,677 rice farmers. Each of these rice farmer-beneficiaries has received PhP5,000.
Arlan Mangelen, DA 12 regional executive director disclosed that the agency already accomplished 61.84% of its total regional allocation of 72,251 rice farmer-beneficiaries as of July 06, 2020.
Of the said regional allocation, the province of Cotabato has 30,718 rice farmer-beneficiaries and followed by Sultan Kudarat with 27,592 rice farmer-beneficiaries. The province of South Cotabato has 9,210 farmer-beneficiaries while the province of Sarangani has 3,951 rice farmer-beneficiaries. The city of General Santos has targeted 780 rice farmer-beneficiaries.
The cash aid given to rice growers is courtesy of the agency’s RFFA Program which provides direct cash subsidy to rice farmers who were greatly affected by the implementation of the Rice Tariffication Law.
“This cash aid is timely and beneficial to the farmers especially during this global pandemic,” Director Mangelen said.
Rice farmer-beneficiary Rolando Delda, Sr. from Tulunan, Cotabato thanked the DA for giving them this cash subsidy. “Nagpapasalamat kami sa DA dahil hindi kami pinabayaan sa panahong bumaba nang husto ang presyo ng palay.”
Gabriel de Leon, a beneficiary from Esperanza, Sultan Kudarat also expressed his thanks to the government saying he would use the money in buying inputs needed in his farm. “Ang tulong na ito ng gobyerno ay ibibili namin ng abono at mga kemikal,” he specifically cited.
Agnes Quijada, another farmer from Esperanza, shared that a portion of the cash aid she received will be used to procure some of her family’s needs.
Another rice farmer Sonny Tongcua from Sto. Niño, South Cotabato became happy because after a long time, he received various direct interventions from the DA. “Marami kaming natanggap na tulong mula sa DA. Maliban sa cash assistance ay binigyan din kami ng binhi ng palay,” he shared.
Director Mangelen has emphasized that RFFA is not a loan program but an unconditional cash transfer given to rice farmers who are tilling 0.5 hectares to two hectares of land and are registered in the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA).
The agency’s Rice Program in partnership with the different government financial institutions and the local government units continuously carries out the distribution of cash aid to the beneficiaries in various places in Region 12.