Rice farmers in the province of Iloilo affected by the decrease in prices of palay or unhusked rice will receive financial assistance from the Department of Agriculture (DA).

Iloilo is one of the 33 recipient-provinces of the DA’s unconditional cash transfer program.

About 46 thousand farmers in the province are expected benefit from the program.

Engineer Roy M. Abaya of the Agriculture Field Programs Operational Planning Division, in a press conference in Iloilo City on Monday, Nov. 25, said each farmer will get P5,000.

A total of P3 billion has been alloted for the program. The budget will be sourced from billions in revenues from higher tariffs Republic Act 11203, or the Rice Tariffication Law, has imposed on rice importation.

As of last month, the government has collected more than P11 billion in rice importation taxes.

Abaya said the unconditional cash transfer program aims help farmers affected by low palay prices amid the implementation of
the Rice Tariffication Law that replaced import quotas with tariffs.

All in all, an estimated 600,000 farmers will benefit from the program.

Abaya said qualified farmers are those with half hectare to two hectares of riceland and registered with the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) in their respective towns.

“Hindi ito one-time assistance, this will become a regular program,” he told local reporters.

Meanwhile, DA Assistant Secretary Andrew B. Villacorta, said that P2.5 billion was allotted for the Expanded Survival and Recovery Assistance (SURE Aid) program, extending a P15,000 zero-interest loan, payable in eight years to farmers tilling one hectare or less of farmlot planted to rice.

Around 166,000 farmers are the target beneficiaries for the aid. More or release 50,000 of them have already applied and up to for releasing while the remaining are still processing their application.

“We hope to release the fund before end of the year,” said Villacorta.

Currently, the National Food Authority (NFA) buy Palay directly from the farmers. The government alloted P7 billion for this.

Abaya and Villacorta were in Iloilo City for the National Rice Industry Stakeholders Conference held at the Iloilo Convention Center (ICC) in Mandurriao district.IMT

Photo courtesy of DA-6