The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has released over P8 billion to support more than 1.5 million rice farmers through cash assistance in the second half of 2022.
The DBM said in a statement yesterday Amenah Pangandaman, budget secretary, approved last July 29 the release of the notice of cash allocation (NCA) amounting to P8.05 to the Department of Agriculture (DA).
The said amount is for the provision and distribution of P5,000 in subsidy to 1,563,781 eligible rice farmers on the third and fourth quarter of the year.
The release of the NCA is in line with the implementation of the Rice Farmers’ Financial Assistance (RFFA) program in order to provide support to rice farmers affected by the Rice Tariffication Law.
“Our farmers deserve our help and care. The immediate release of cash assistance could provide relief to our rice farmers given the recent natural calamities they experienced,” Pangandaman said.
“This unconditional cash assistance could also provide aid to the rice farmers in securing farm inputs such as fertilizer and oil farm machinery,” she added.
The NCA likewise covers the service fee, including the cost of card generation, for the Rice Competitive Enhancement Fund-RFFA under the Development Bank of the Philippines.
Earlier this year, the DBM released a special allotment release order amounting to P8.9 billion to the DA. Last May 6, an initial NCA amounting to P894.8 million was released by the DBM to the agriculture department based on the computed budgetary requirements of 173,753 qualified rice farmer-beneficiaries. – Angela Celis
