Cordillera farmers get P500M govt aid

By Jordeene B. Lagare

BAGUIO CITY -- RICE and vegetable farmers in the Cordillera Administrative Region affected by the recent typhoon received funding amounting to P556.35 million, the Dept. of Agriculture said Oct. 31.
    The financial assistance was provided to farmers during the launch of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund-Rice Farmers Financial Assistance (RCEF-RFFA) Program held here recently.
    Under the RCEF-RFFA, rice farmers enrolled in the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture with landholdings of two hectares and below will receive unconditional cash assistance worth P5,000.
    This initiative will benefit 65,836 Cordillera rice farmers with a total cash assistance amounting to P329.18 million.
    "The Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) is one of the best reforms that have happened today. The bottom line of RTL, that also provides RCEF, is to make the rice farmers very competitive para puwede tayong makipagtunggali sa rice farmers sa iba't ibang bansa (so we can compete with rice farmers in other countries)," said Agriculture Sec. William Dar.
    The cost of palay (unhusked rice) production will be at the level of P7 per kilogram at the end of the six-year implementation period, he added.
    The DA-CAR Regional Field Office, in partnership with the Development Bank of the Philippines and SquidPay Technology Inc., will start distributing to the beneficiaries the Interventions Monitoring Card that serves as an identification and cash card.
    Dar said other salient interventions must be further funded and supported to make local farmers more competitive such as drying facilities and other post-harvest facilities, use of biofertilizers and biopesticides, and mass labeling of vegetables and fruits for food safety.
    Check and cash assistance were likewise given to the calamity-affected farmers and fisherfolk in the region.
    The DA-Agricultural Credit Policy Council approved a credit fund amounting to P10 million for the Lengaoan Indigenous Farmers Multipurpose Cooperative as lending conduit under the Expanded SURE Aid and Recovery Project.
    Small farmers and fishers may avail of P20,000 interest-free loans without collateral and payable for 10 years through this program.
    Additional assistance amounting to P135 million from the Quick Response Fund has been allotted for the region's rehabilitation and recovery program to benefit the farmers and fisherfolk severely affected by habagat (southwest monsoon) and Typhoon "Maring."
    Polyethylene plastic sheets and various vegetable seeds worth P1,285,750 were also distributed as initial assistance under the region's recovery program.
    The Philippine Crop Insurance Corp., on the other hand, paid P3,165,821 for the indemnity and claims for rice, corn, high-value crops, livestock, and credit and life term insurance.
    Other interventions awarded to the farmers include 50 units of aquaponics system worth P2.75 million from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, eight hauling trucks and two refrigerated vans amounting to P21.44 million from the banner programs of DA-CAR, and P22 million-worth truck-mounted water well drilling rig and support equipment.