MisOcc rice farmers receive PhP3.47-M financial assistance

 

OZAMIZ CITY — The Department of Agriculture – Regional Field Office 10 (DA-10) continued its roll out of the Rice Farmers’ Financial Assistance (RFFA) amounting to around PhP3.47-million (M) worth of cash grants to 694 beneficiaries on November 29, here.

Since the implementation of the Rice Tariffication Law creating the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund for the said purpose, this marks the fourth cycle of the RFFA initiative and the fifth batch of Misamis Occidental farmers to receive assistance in 2024. The RFFA program aims to offset the financial losses of smallholder rice farmers due to declining palay prices in 2019.

Spearheaded by the agency’s Rice Program under the Field Operations Division (FOD), the RFFA program offers P5k cash grants to rice farmers who are listed in Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA), with farm size of 2 hectares and below.

DA-10 Regional Technical Director for Operations, Carlota S. Madriaga, in a message, enjoined farmers to also sell their produce to the National Food Authority (NFA).

“We [the DA] encourage you to sell your produce to the NFA to achieve food security in times of calamities and to help our economy thrive”, the assistant director said.

Earlier this October, the NFA set the palay buying prices between PhP23 and PhP25 per kilo, ensuring that farmers receive a fair share of the profits, which the range is higher than last year’s PhP16 to PhP23 per kilo.

Moreover, Dir. Madriaga also advised farmers to be strategic with their spending, urging them to invest the assistance in their farms to counter financial losses.
“Spend the amount for productivity and profitability with more resources to improve your farm operations”, she encouraged.

One of the beneficiaries, Elmer D. Mintalar, a resident of Molicay, Ozamiz City, who owns a 1.3-hectare of rice farm, expressed his gratitude.

“Ako nagpasalamat sa DA aning RFFA kay kaning kantidad nga nadawat [nako] makatabang na sa pagpalit sa mga kagamitan sa among farm, sa abono, ug mga tambal. Unta kining programa magpadayun”, said Mintalar, in an interview.

(I’m really grateful to the DA for this RFFA. The funds I received will go a long way in helping me buy farm equipment, fertilizers, and pesticides. I just hope this program keeps helping farmers.)

On the same day, the DA-10, through its Regional Agricultural Engineering Division (RAED), also began releasing fuel assistance to farmers in Oroquieta City.# (BJCE)