Farmers yet to receive subsidy

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The Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) has asked the Land Bank of the Philippines to expedite the release of the P5,000 income subsidy under the Rice Farmers Financial Assistance (RFFA) program.

Leonardo Montemayor, FFF chairman, in a letter to the bank, said the fund for the program has not been distributed, citing members in Camiling, Tarlac who were given claim coupons last December 17 have not receive their subsidy because they are waiting for their identification cards to be issued by the Land Bank.

The RFFA is a direct cash transfer worth P5,000 each to rice farmers tilling two hectares or less, as compensation for their projected income loss due to the drop of palay price.

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The program sources its fund from rice tariffs collected annually in excess of the P10 billion allocated for the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund.

Montemayor said thousands have yet to get their subsidies: 15,000 in Tarlac; 10,000 in Pangasinan; and 80,000 in Iloilo and Guimaras.

“In contrast, the RFFA program funds that were allocated to the Development Bank of the Philippines and coursed through local branches of M. Lhuillier or USSC money transfer companies have generally been smoothly disbursed to beneficiary farmers,” Montemayor added.

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