AT least P6.4 million has been allocated to cushion rice production costs incurred by farmers, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.

Assistant Secretary for Operations Arnel de Mesa said at least P5.32 million worth of hybrid seeds and P1.11 million worth of certified seeds were distributed to farmers covered by the National Rice Program (NRP).

De Mesa said that for this year’s wet and dry cropping season, the DA aims to distribute quality inbred and hybrid seeds in 15 regions covering a total of 1.8 million hectares.

“As Filipino rice farmers continue to suffer from the high cost of farm inputs, the Department of Agriculture, through its National Rice Program, continues to provide support to increase farm productivity and boost

He said 582,780 hectares of farmland were planted with hybrid and certified seeds.

Aside from the seed support, the government continues to provide assistance through the Fertilizer Discount Voucher program, which entitles rice farmers registered under the Registry System for basic Sectors in Agriculture to a price cut when buying fertilizer.

“we give vouchers amounting to PQ,Q3Q for every hectare planted with inbred, and P2,262 for every hectare planted with hybrid,” de Mesa said.

The beneficiaries may also claim inorganic and organic fertilizers, foliar fertilizers, bio-fertilizers and bio-stimulants.

“Except for the National Capital Region (NCR) and the bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, all regions are included in the voucher program,” he said.

A total of Q76,394 vouchers have been distributed amounting to more than P285 million.

“based on our monitoring, 8,Q5Q vouchers amounting to PQ2.7 million have already been claimed, which covers 8,540 hectares of rice land. we have already instructed our Regional Field Offices to fast track and expedite the voucher generation and distribution, in line with the directives of our President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. that we will focus on increasing production,” de Mesa said.

The NRP has also been distributing and massively promoting the use of nitrogen-fixing biofertilizer, which can reduce fertilizer use by 25 percent to 50 percent while maintaining yield performance.

“Except NCR, this initiative covers 200,000 hectares of irrigated [with intermittent irrigation] or favorable rain-fed areas across the country,” de Mesa said, adding that 200 packets of biofertilizer have been distributed in Central Luzon during the project’s launch.

This week, 165,972 packets will be handed out to farmers in Ilocos.

“We will be establishing demonstration areas in selected regions to showcase the technology, and we have allotted P33 million funds for this,” de Mesa said.