TUGUEGARAO CITY: More than P140.4 million under the Department of Agriculture (DA) Rice Farmer Financial Assistance (RFFA) program is being distributed to farmers in Region 2.

Dr. Ferdinand Cortez of the DA Region 2 Agriculture and Fisheries Information Section said the DA Regional Field Office 2 (DA-RFO2) headed by Regional Executive Director Narciso Edillo started the distribution on Tuesday, September 20, which will end in October to 21 municipalities in the Cagayan Valley region through the DA-RFO2 rice program unit.

For Nueva Vizcaya province, a total of P95.9 million will be distributed to Villaverde on September 20; Quezon on September 21; Dupax del Sur on September 22; Dupax del Norte on September 23; Bagabag on September 24; Ambaguio on September 26; Aritao on September 27; Santa Fe on September 28; Kasibu from September

29 to 30 and October 1; Kayapa on October 3; Diadi from September 19 to 23; Alfonso Castañeda from September 28 to 29; and Bambang, Bayombong and Solano on September 12 onwards.

For Quirino province, a total of P44.5 million will be distributed to Aglipay from October 4 to 6; Nagtipunan from October 7 to 8; Cabarroguis from October 11 to 12; Maddela on October 13; Saguday on October 14 and Diffun on October 15.

The final distribution schedule for Isabela province will be announced soon as well as for the rest of the farmer-beneficiaries in the different municipalities in the region.

Cortez said that the RFFA program extends a P5,000 cash subsidy to rice farmers tilling not more than two hectares to partly compensate for depressed palay (unmilled rice) prices arising from liberalized importation under the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) in 2019.

He said the RFFA program funds were allocated to the Development Bank of the Philippines and coursed through the Universal Storefront Services Corp. money transfer companies to be smoothly disbursed to beneficiary farmers in the said municipalities

Cortez also explained that those under the fund downloaded at the Landbank of the Philippines (LBP) will be scheduled during the last quarter of this year as LBP is ongoing in the production of cash cards.

Citing Section 13 of Republic Act (RA) 11203, Cortez noted that if the annual tariff revenues from rice importation exceed P10 billion in any given year within the six-year period following the effectivity of the RTL, the excess tariff revenues shall be earmarked by congress and included in the General Appropriations Act of the following year for other intended purposes.

He said RFFA is among the intended purposes of the excess tariff revenue, which is to be given as financial assistance to eligible rice farmers to compensate for the projected reduction or loss of farm income arising from the tariffication of the quantitative import restrictions on rice.

“With the enactment of RA 11598 or the “Cash Assistance for Filipino Farmers Act” in December 2021, the program was further strengthened,” Cortez said.

He said given the urgency to assist the farmers due to the declining palay prices and the crippling effect of the world health crisis, RA 11598 authorized the DA to utilize the annual tariff revenues to directly provide cash assistance to eligible beneficiaries until 2024.

“This means that all excess tariff collections shall be solely devoted to cash assistance to Filipino rice farmers,” Cortez said.