Agri 10 provides MisOr rice farmers with cash aid thru its RFFA program.

 

The Department of Agriculture – Regional Field Office 10 (DA-RFO 10) kicked off the 3rd Rice Farmers’ Financial Assistance (RFFA-3) for the province of Misamis Oriental, in Gingoog City, Tuesday, February 7.

Some 592 eligible rice farmers from the towns of Magsaysay and Medina, and Gingoog City received P5,000 cash aid during the RFFA distribution.

The RFFA has been rolled out by DA-RFO 10 since 2020. For its third-year implementation, the agency has allocated P15.5-M worth of financial aid to benefit more than 3K eligible rice farmers in Misamis Oriental.

According to DA-RFO 10 OIC-Regional Executive Director Carlene C. Collado, the RFFA is granted to RSBSA-registered smallholder rice farmers in Northern Mindanao tilling rice areas of not more than 2 hectares.

Being funded through the Rice Tarrification Law, he said the RFFA is intended to compensate for the plunging palay buying price, and increasing prices of farm inputs, particularly fertilizer.

Razel Amparo, RFFA recipient from the town of Medina and secretary of the Cabug Rice Farmers’ Association said the cash assistance from DA comes in handy for rice farmers like her in providing for their farming needs.

“Gamiton nako kining akong nadawat nga tabang para ipalit og abono ug tambal pang-ispray sa among basakan,” she said. (I will use the cash aid I received in buying fertilizer and chemicals for our rice field.)

The RFFA rollout in Misamis Oriental was graced by Gingoog City Mayor, Erick G. Cañosa along with local officials of the City and DA personnel from the Regional Rice Program and Misamis Oriental Provincial Operations Center.

The RFFA will be rolled out to 10 other municipalities and the cities of Cagayan de Oro and El Salvador on February 8-10.

The DA-RFO 10 has earlier capped the RFFA-3 distribution in the provinces of Bukidnon, Lanao del Norte and Misamis Occidental benefitting 42,844 rice farmers. # (ATTalib)