Lanao Norte rice farmers get PhP7k cash aid as DA-NorMin stages NRAM InfoCar

 

Tubod, Lanao del Norte – In time with the 2025 National Rice Awareness Month (NRAM) celebration, the Department of Agriculture – Northern Mindanao (DA-NorMin) rolled out another PhP5.6-million (M) worth of Rice Farmers Financial Assistance (RFFA) to 800 smallholding rice farmers in Lanao del Norte, on November 18, here.

Apart from amplifying the call for responsible rice consumption and rallying support for the nation’s rice farmers through the NRAM, the DA-NorMin aims to capacitate and motivate the rice farmers to plant palay by taking advantage of the RFFA as leverage to mitigate cost of farm production.

The RFFA is an unconditional cash aid provided to eligible rice farmers tilling rice area not more than 2 hectares, and duly registered with the RSBSA of the DA.

The PhP7k cash assistance is seen to ease the impact of fluctuating palay buying price to rice farmers in Lanao del Norte.

Azhari A. Amindato, a rice farmer from Balo-i town, said the RFFA provides a much-needed help for the 1.5 hectare rice field he is tilling.

“Magagamit ko ito [RFFA] para pambili ng pestisidyo at abono, ang natabi ko pandagdag na rin sa araw-araw na pangangailangan sa pagpapaaral ng mga anak ko,” Amindato said, thanking the government for the second RFFA he received since last year.

To instill among the farmers their role in the pursuit of rice-sufficient Philippines, the rice farmers also pledged “Be Riceponsible” during the NRAM-RFFA rollout.

As the government strives to fuel economic and social development through agriculture, the DA under President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s administration intensified its support to local farmers, providing various agri-fishery grants and subsidy for agricultural modernization and industrialization.# (ATT)