DA-10 rice farmers to secure fertilizer assistance through the Fertilizer Discount Voucher program.

 

MALAYBALAY CITY, BUKIDNON – The Department of Agriculture – RFO 10 (DA-10) is set to provide P380 million worth of fertilizer assistance to rice farmers in Northern Mindanao for the wet and dry cropping seasons this year.

In a meeting with the partner merchants and the Provincial, City and Municipal agriculturists in Bukidnon province, Thursday, March 7, Chona H. Nacalaban, DA-10 Rice Program Focal Person, said the fertilizer assistance will be rolled out through the Fertilizer Discount Voucher (FDV) program of the DA.

She emphasized, “the fertilizer assistance is an augmentation to the fertilizer requirement of the rice farmers, to help them attain optimum yield.”

Through the FDV, the rice farmers duly registered with the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) may choose to avail of fertilizers such as complete, urea, ammonium sulfate, ammonium phosphate or muriate of potash, whichever suited their farming needs.

RSBSA-registered rice farmers in clustered rice areas are entitled to an FDV for a maximum of 10 hectares each, while rice farmers in non-clustered areas may receive an FDV for a maximum of five (5) hectares rice fields.

DA-10 Regional Executive Director Carlene C. Collado, urged the DA’s partner merchants and the LGUs to work in cohesion with the DA, for smooth implementation of the FDV program in 2024.

“We aimed for speedy and transparent implementation of the FDV program. For the farmers’ benefit our main priority is to provide them quality and reasonably priced fertilizer” he said.

Under the FDV program each eligible rice farmer can receive P3,400 per hectare worth of fertilizer voucher, which they can claim from the DA-accredited merchants.

Dir. Collado signed a Supplemental Agreement with the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) Vice President, Mary Joyce B. Salgados, setting forth the guidelines for FDV project funds

utilization, particularly for payment to partner merchants.

The FDV program will cover 111,992 hectares of rice area in the whole of Northern Mindanao and is seen to benefit 51,962 rice farmers.#(ATT)