Senate committee on agriculture chair Cynthia Villar is proposing for a six-year extension of the implementation of the Rice Competitive Enhancement Fund (RCEF) beyond June this year.
Villar told repor ters she will propose for the increase in the annual allocation of P10 billion as tariff collection has been exceeding that amount since 2019.
She said her proposal will increase the funding for water impounding facilities as well as for composting machines for organic fertilizer so that these will have a regular budget.
The lawmaker noted the importance of retaining funding for mechanization as well as the budget intended for the distribution of quality rice seeds.
RCEF was created by the Rice Tarrification Law which provides that tariffs collected from rice imports should be allocated to programs that benefit local rice farmers and the industry.
However, under the current version of the law, the fund is only expected to be collected until June 2024 after it started in 2019.
RCEF’s annual P10 billion allocation is divided into several focus areas including the mechanization program for P5 billion; distribution of high-yielding seeds at P3 billion; training and capacitating farmers for P1 billion; and credit support for the remaining P1 billion.
“We will change some things based on performance,” Villar said on the sidelines of an event hosted by the United Broiler Raiser’s Association in Quezon City yesterday.
Villar said she is finalizing the bill on the extension and targets to have it passed and signed into law before June. -Jed Macapagal