Agri-10 eyes to hand out FIMCs to rice farmers for cash assistance, among other agri interventions

 

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The Universal Storefront Services, Corporation’s (USSC) Northern Mindanao Area Manager, William B. Parantar turned over to Department of Agriculture-RFO 10 Regional Executive Director Carlene C. Collado some 8,988 Farmers’ Interventions Monitoring Cards (FIMCs) on Tuesday, June 27, for distribution to bonafide rice farmers in the region.

The FIMC is an identification card that also serves as a cash card to be used in the rollout of DA’s financial assistance and other agricultural interventions.
The said cards will be issued to bonafide rice farmers in the region who are officially registered to the DA’s Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA), and eligible of DA’s Rice Farmers’ Financial Assistance (RFFA).

As provided under the Rice Tarrification Law (RTL), qualified rice farmers in the country shall receive P5K worth of financial subsidy from DA in the form of the RFFA until year 2024.

With the card at their possession, the RFFA shall be deposited directly to the rice farmers’ account and withdrawable in any USSC outlet or Automated Teller Machine (ATM) of any BancNet-recognized Philippine banks across the country.

“Thanks to our partners, the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and the USSC, we were able to expedite and systematize our RFFA distribution in Northern Mindanao. At these trying times, it is always our priority to cascade government assistance to the farmers in the fastest possible way,” Dir. Collado remarked.

The DA-10 and the USSC target to distribute FIMCs to another 28K RFFA rice farmer-recipients in the region in the next quarter.

Also in attendance during the FIMC turnover are DA-10 Regional Technical Director for Operations, Carlota S. Madriaga and Rice Program focal person, Chona H. Nacalaban.# (ATTalib)