While braving COVID-19 pandemic, at least 13,036 rice farmers in Bukidnon and Lanao del Norte are expected to receive P5,000.00 from the Department of Agriculture – Regional Field Office 10 (DA-RFO 10) on April 20-24, 2020.

A total of Php 65.18 million financial aid was granted to bonafide rice farmers in the two provinces through the Rice Farmers Financial Assistance (RFFA) of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Program (RCEP) of DA.

The aid is due to small-scale rice farmers tilling rice field two hectares and below.

“The rice farmers entitled of this grant are duly validated and are registered to DA’s Registry System for Basic Sector in Agriculture (RSBSA),” said DA-10 OIC-Regional Executive Director Carlene C. Collado.

DA-10 Regional Technical Director Carlota S. Madriaga said, “This assistance is given to eligible rice farmers affected by the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) due to low buying price of palay.”

She added that the aid is intended to support the farmers in procuring farms inputs and foods during this trying time.

The initiative is anticipated to encourage Bukidnon and Lanao rice farmers to continue farming while going through quarantine and lockdown.

This is crucial to ensure rice production and rice supply in said provinces and in the entire Region 10 are unhampered amid the COVID-19 crisis.

The aid is handed to the farmers by commissioning the service of a remittance company. Eligible rice farmers are given official endorsement containing the RFFA reference code to be used in claiming the monetary assistance.

RCEP financial aid is simultaneously released to rice farmers in the provinces of Bukidnon and Lanao del Norte – two of the largest rice-producing provinces in Northern Mindanao. #