DA-10 fuels up 377 Lantapan farmers’ agri machinery with PhP1.13-M assistance

 

LANTAPAN, BUKIDNON – The Department of Agriculture – Regional Field Office 10 (DA-10) released around PhP1.13-million (M) worth of fuel assistance to 377 farmers on November 22, in this town.

Said figure is part of the estimated 159,617 farmers nationwide set to benefit from the Fuel Assistance to Farmers Project (FAtFP).

In coordination with the DA and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), said project under the Special Provision No. 19 of the FY 2023 General Appropriation Act (GAA), aims to cushion the impact of rising fuel costs on farmers through the provision of fuel assistance.

Each farmer received a DA Intervention Monitoring Card with credited PhP3K to defray for their fuel expenses.

Farmers, to qualify as beneficiary, should own or lease operational machinery enrolled in the Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Management Information System (ABEMIS).

Moreover, beneficiaries must be listed in the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) and/or encoded in the Farmers and Fisherfolk Registry System (FFRS).

However, farmers who are not yet registered with the RSBSA can still avail the assistance, provided that they enroll.

Benedicto S. Oroyan, a rice farmer who owns a floating tiller (turtle handtractor) from Kulasihan, Lantapan, expressed his gratitude to the agency for the fuel subsidy.

“Mapasalamaton kaayo ko sa DA sa ilang gihatag nga fuel assistance sa akong turtle [handtractor]. Dako na kaayo ni nga tabang sa akoa kay dili ko makapalit sa krudo.” (I am very grateful to the DA for the fuel assistance because this saves me from buying gasoline), said Oroyan, in an interview.

Present also in the distribution led by the DA-10’s Regional Agricultural Engineering Division (RAED) were the Municipal Agriculture Office of Lantapan and personnel from the Universal Storefront Services, Corp. (USSC) as DBM’s FinTech partner.# (BJCE)