DAET, CAMARINES NORTE – Some 7,843 rice farmers in this province will start getting P5,000.00 cash assistance from DA as the Rice Farmers Financial Assistance (RFFA) was formally launched here on December 10, 2021.
Rice farmers who are registered with the RSBSA or Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture and whose farms are two hectares and below, are entitled to receive the RFFA which can be withdrawn through the Interventions Monitoring Card (IMC) that will be provided to the farmers. This IMC will serve as an identification and cash card.
Luz R. Marcelino, Regional Technical Director for Operations who represented DA Bicol during the launching said that the funds for the RCEF-RFFA came from the excess tariffs from the P10 Billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) institutionalized through RA 11203 or the Rice Tariffication Law. The law seeks to improve rice farmers’ income and lower the cost of rice production by 30% through the provision of machineries, seeds, credit and extension.
A total of 111,880 rice farmers regionwide will receive the P5,000 cash assistance – 28,296 farmers in Albay; 7,843 in Camarines Norte; 5,605 in Catanduanes; 17,829 in Masbate; 18,705 in Sorsogon; and 33,602 in Camarines Sur.
This project is in partnership with the Development Bank of the Philippines and the Land Bank of the Philippines. The DBP and LBP also partnered with the USSC this time for the payment of the cash assistance. The distribution of cash assistance will continue until the end of December this year.
The launching of the RFFA was held at the Agro Sports Center in Daet which coincided with the 2021 Year-end Assessment for the 182 Barangay Agricultural Extension Workers of the province.
Governor Edgardo A. Tallado said that in Bicol and even in the Philippines, only Camarines Norte province has Barangay Agri Extension Workers. Governor Tallado added that these volunteer workers are receiving a P1,500 monthly incentive from the provincial government aside from the incentives from their respective barangays and municipalities. (Lovella P. Guarin / DA RAFIS 5)
