The Landbank of the Philippines has distributed P2.649 billion to 529,816 rice farmer-beneficiaries affected by the new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic across 26 provinces under the Department of Agriculture’s Financial Subsidy to Rice Farmers (FSRF) program.
Landbank said as of July 1, a total of 61,928 rice farmers have claimed their cash benefits through their Landbank ATM cash cards while 467,888 farmers received their financial assistance in designated pay-out sites.
Under the FSRF program, small rice farmers tilling farms with an area of one hectare or less received P5,000 each to supplement their production budget and family income.
Cecilia Borromeo, Landbank president and chief executive officer, said in a statement the bank has provided 29,728 agrarian reform beneficiaries a one-year moratorium on amortizations with due dates falling during the previous enhance community quarantine period that covered 41,837 hectares of agricultural land amounting to a total of P1.56 billion in dues.
Meanwhile, agricultural non-government organization Rice Watch Action Network (R1) said wet season crops should be covered with free insurance.
The group noted farmers are now faced with higher risks to health and production as incomes are threatened.
Hazel Tanchuling, R1 executive director, said crops funded with the Rice Resiliency Fund may only be wasted if affected by natural disasters without any protection.
It would be a pity to see these billions of investments wiped-out and unprotected from climate risks such as tropical cyclones,í® Tanchuling said.
R1 added the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. has been allotted P3.5 billion in the General Appropriations Act of 2020 to provide financial risk protection for agricultural producers.