The Department of Agriculture (DA) said an additional P4.1 billion has been allocated for fertilizer subsidy to rice farmers for the dry season cropping next year.
Under DA Memorandum Order No. 65 series of 2022 signed on Monday by Domingo Panganiban, DA undersecretary, rice farmers registered in the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture and encoded in the Farmers and Fisherfolk Registry System who will plantduring the 2022-2023 dry cropping season are eligible to avail the program.
Farmers tilling 0.5 hectares (ha) and below will get fertilizer vouchers worth P3,300 while those tilling 0.51 ha to 2 ha will get varying amounts following the formula of their rice farm area multiplied by P6,600.
“With the goal of cushioning the potential impacts of under application of urea fertilizer to palay production and ultimately food security, the DA shall provide fertilizer vouchers to eligible beneficiaries which will be used in acquiring urea fertilizers. The use of fertilizer vouchers offers an alternative to farmers with lowered purchasing power to buy a sufficient volume of urea recommended for their rice area,” the document said.
The DA said the program is funded jointly by balance from this year’s General Appropriations Act for wet season fertilizer subsidies as well as from Special Allotment Release Orders.
The DA expects the program to enable rice farmers supplement the requirement for urea fertilizer for their rice production; mitigate the impacts of the projected decline in production due to low usage of urea fertilizer and attain the target yield of 4.22 metric tons per ha of palay for 2023; and stabilize the rice supply situation in the country despite challenges in the price of commercial fertilizers.
However, the program will only cover regions planted with inbred and hybrid rice seeds except the National Capital Region and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao.
