DBM Releases ₱8.05 Billion for Subsidy to Rice Farmers

On Monday, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) approved the disbursement of a subsidy to rice farmers affected by the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL). Following this, the Department of Agriculture (DA) received a Notice of Cash Allocation (NCA) amounting to ₱8.05 billion. Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman noted that 1.5 million eligible rice farmers will benefit from the subsidy.

The DA will distribute ₱5,000 to each of the beneficiaries within the third and fourth quarters of this year. Pangandaman elaborated that the release of the NCA is in line with the implementation of the Rice Farmers’ Financial Assistance (RFFA) program. This ₱3-billion unconditional cash transfer program aims to provide support to rice farmers affected by the RTL.

“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,” explained Pangandaman. “This unconditional cash assistance could also provide aid to the rice farmers in securing farm inputs such as fertilizer and oil farm machinery.”

The NCA also covers the service fee for the Rice Competitive Enhancement Fund-RFFA, which is under the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP). On February 14, 2019, former President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act (RA) 11203. The RA was titled “An Act Liberalizing the Importation, Exportation, and Trading of Rice, Lifting for the Purpose the Quantitative Import Restriction on Rice, and for Other Purposes.”

This particular law provides a ₱10-billion annual support to rice farmers. It focuses on improving their productivity while increasing their income. Earlier in March, the DBM released an ₱8.9 billion Special Allotment Release Order (SARO) to the DA. Later in May, it also disbursed an initial NCA amounting to ₱894.8 million covering 173,753 qualified rice farmer-beneficiaries.

Source: Manila Bulletin