DA extends P366.5 million assistance to rice, corn farmers

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) has distributed P366.5 million worth of assistance to rice and corn farmers and fisherfolk in Laguna.

In a statement yesterday, the DA said a total of 56,823 rice farmers from the CALABARZON Region benefited from the second wave of the Rice Farmers Financial Assistance (RFFA) program, which grants a P5,000 subsidy to rice farmers tilling 0.5 to two hectares of land.

The DA also formally launched its fuel subsidy program in Los Baños, providing P1.35 million to 1,950 corn farmers and P17.15 million to 5,400 fishers in Laguna with P3,000 cash subsidy each.

For this program, DA’s partner petrol retail outlets include Shell, Petron, Total, Phoenix, Unioil, Seaoil, PTT, and G Little.

Meanwhile, the Provincial Government of Laguna also received P48 million worth of machineries under the department’s Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Program (RCEF) and other agricultural interventions amounting to P7.4 million.

To receive the cash assistance, DA assistant secretary for operations Arnel de Mesa introduced the Interventions Monitoring Card (IMC)—a multipurpose card that serves as a unique identification and transactional card through which cash assistance for DA beneficiaries will be received.

The IMC, which contains basic information such as the beneficiaries’ name, photo, QR code, RSBSA number, and e-wallet card, is expected to enhance the DA’s distribution process and ensure no leakages.

De Mesa, who also serves in concurrent capacity as the DA Regional Field Office IV-A executive director, said the IMC would have an EMV chip, allowing beneficiaries to withdraw money with Universal Storefront Services Corp. (USSC) partners and select financial technology partners.