SOME 20,488 small rice farmers in Negros Occidental are expected to avail P5,000 worth of assistance each from the Department of Agriculture (DA) through its Financial Subsidy to Rice Farmers (FSRF) program.
Jose Albert Barrogo, DA’s team leader for Negros Occidental, said on April 14 that the agency has an allocation of about P102 million for the province.
Barrogo said the amount forms part of the P3 billion fund allocated by the DA for recipient-rice farmers in the country.
“This one-time subsidy is a sort of social amelioration intended to allay possible adverse effects of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) crisis among our small rice farmers,” he said, adding that those qualified are with farm areas of one hectare and below.
Based on the 2017 data of the agency, there’s a total of 55,635 rice farmers in Negros Occidental.
From this number, the DA will have yet to identify the qualified rice farmers considering the major requirement of having farm only one hectare and below using the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) list.
Barrogo said they are now on the process of finalizing the list which will be submitted to the DA Central Office on Monday, April 20.
He added Agriculture Secretary William Dar set a target for distribution on the last week of the month, probably starting April 27.
“We have yet to segregate the farmers basing on the area of their respective farm areas,” he said, pointing out that “ if ever there will be more than the target 20,488 recipients, we will then submit a query to the Central Office as to what to do with the other farmers not covered by the fund.”
Moreover, the DA is now discussing with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on how to address concerns like possible duplication of recipients.
The DSWD also has its own Social Amelioration Program (SAP) that provides qualified families P5,000 to P8,000 subsidy.
Barrogo said there’s no instruction to exclude in the list of potential beneficiaries those small rice farmers who are also members of the Conditional Cash Transfer or Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).
The discussion on the possibility of including a FSRF recipient of the DA to the SAP of the DSWD is also ongoing.
Barrogo said once approved, the DA will provide the subsidy for the first month then the DSWD is taking charge of giving additional assistance for another month or vice versa.
“This program is an immediate response of the DA to help small rice farmers during this crisis. Though it’s a small amount, this is hoped to somehow lessen the burden of their families,” he added.