Friday, July 04, 2008 Rice farmers to get fertilizer subsidy
PALAY (unhusked rice grain) farmers in the Cordillera are beneficiaries of a joint fertilizer subsidy program between the Department of Agriculture (DA) and local government units (LGUs), which involves the distribution of discount coupons for the purchase of this vital input equivalent to P500 per farmer.
The local palay farmers will receive their discount coupons for the purchase of fertilizers as soon as the DA regional office and the LGUs finish the documentation requirements needed for the successful implementation of the program, said Virginia Tapat, regional coordinator of the GMA-Rice Program.
About 37 cartons of coupons worth P37 million are ready for distribution to qualified beneficiaries, Tapat added.
Twenty of the boxes are now positioned in the provinces of Kalinga, Apayao, and Abra. They will start distributing the coupons when the master list of farmer beneficiaries are completed and submitted.
"We hope to start and finish the distribution of the coupons to beneficiaries in the provinces of Apayao and Kalinga next week. By then, the master listing of farmers in Abra and other provinces of the region shall have been completed," Tapat said.
She added that the schedule for the initial distribution of the fertilizer coupons in Abra is also set next week.
Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap in his visit to the region last June 14 said, the fertilizer subsidy program was launched in partnership with the LGUs to help the country's palay farmers cope with the spiraling cost of this vital input across the globe.
Aside from fertilizers, the DA will continue its seed and irrigation support as part of the DA's two-year harvest plan to raise the country's self-sufficiency rate from a projected 92.38 percent this year to 98 percent in 2010, Yap said.
Under this subsidy program, the DA will provide discount coupons for the fertilizer purchases of qualified farmer beneficiaries to help them cope with the sharp rise in the price of this input.
The LGUs will also provide counterpart funds for this subsidy program so farmers can buy more fertilizers, which will assure them of much higher yields per hectare.
"Legitimate farmers who are on the master list of the municipal agriculture offices (MAOs) and endorsed to their respective provincial agriculture offices (PAOs) are qualified to receive the discount coupons," said Tapat.
Simultaneous with the on going listing of legitimate farmers, the staff of the GMA Rice Program and their counterparts in the provinces are also identifying fertilizer dealers and suppliers who are willing to participate in the subsidy program.
With support from all stakeholders, Tapat is optimistic they will finish the positioning and distribution of the fertilizer discount coupons in due time so that the farmers can maximize its use for the wet palay crop. (RD)
