Agri-10 through its RAED targets to streamline delivery of fuel assistance to farmers renting or owning functional machinery.
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The Department of Agriculture – Regional Field Office 10 (DA-RFO 10) through its Regional Agricultural Engineering Division (RAED), recently staged the FY 2023 assessment of Fuel Assistance to Farmers Project (FAtFP) and its implementation for the succeeding year, with the provincial, city, and municipal local government units, here.
The said activity served as a channel to continually enhance the dynamism and efficiency among members of the fuel assistance team through updates and takeaways.
Pursuant to Special Provision No. 19 of FY 2023 General Appropriation Act (GAA), PhP510-million (M) was set aside to provide fuel assistance to farmers in the Philippines who own or rent agricultural machinery and are listed in the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA). Each farmer-recipient will receive a DA Intervention Monitoring Card with fuel assistance worth PhP3k, excluding the card cost of PhP150.
Based on their 2023 data, the Regional Agricultural Machinery Inventory registered around 12k units of machinery in Northern Mindanao used for crop, livestock, and poultry production.
Approximately 12,990 farmers from the region were validated as targets for FY 2023, apportioning PhP40.91-M worth of fuel subsidy.
Reportedly, nearly half of the targets has been accomplished as of October this year, while the remaining subsidy is set to be released through a series of caravans starting mid October until the following weeks in Bukidnon, Lanao del Norte, and Misamis Oriental in coordination with the Development Bank of the Philippines and Universal Storefront Services, Corp. (USSC).
DA-10 RAED Programs and Projects Management Section chief, Engr. Romil G. Española, emphasized that the meeting also served as a venue to strategize measures to address bottlenecks in the project implementation.
Wherein, the Know-Your-Client (KYC) validation was notably identified, as additional verification is required among farmer-beneficiaries vis-a-vis submitted documentary requirements.
“We’ve assessed our performance in order for us [DA-10 fuel assistance team] to efficiently move forward and accomplish the targets for FY 2023 on or before the end of November 2024,”Española added.
To hasten the implementation, a one-time caravan schedule was recommended to conduct KYC processes in local government units (LGUs) near USSC branches.
The FAtFP will continue with a PhP510-M allocation under Special Provision No. 17 of RA 11975 FY 2024, with a PhP42-M allocation for Northern Mindanao.
The RAED and Field Operations Division of DA-10 will identify the eligible beneficiaries in coordination with the Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering offices of the LGUs or the office of provincial, city, and municipal agriculturists.
Further, DA-10 RAED enjoined the LGUs to submit names of farmers for validation as beneficiaries for the current fiscal year, and to continually coordinate, especially for the KYC processing activities.
In closing, Engr. Bryan R. Cubita, Officer-In-Charge of the Misamis Occidental Provincial Operations Center, reaffirmed that constant collaboration with the LGUs would foster a more harmonious implementation, allowing more recipients to benefit from the subsidy.
The provision of fuel assistance aims to lessen farming operating costs, enhance farmers’ resilience, and help cushion the impact of rising oil prices on the farming sector.# (EJLG)