SAN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA: The Department of Agriculture (DA) will release PHP30.22 million in financial assistance to 6,044 rice farmers in Antique starting Friday.
DA Agriculture Program Coordinating Office chief in Antique Sonie Guanco, in an interview on Thursday, said the identified recipients are among the 47,390 rice farmers in the province who qualified for the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) Rice Farmers Financial Assistance (RFFA) for 2023.
The RFFA is for farmers tilling rice areas two hectares and below and released through its intervention monitoring card (IMC).
Guanco said the IMC is similar to an automated teller machine (ATM) card, where the financial assistance of PHP5,000 per farmer is credited.
‘The 6,044 farmers will be distributed of their IMC from May 10 until June 30,’ Guanco said, adding they will start in Belison town.
Of the total recipients, Guanco said 24,399 received their assistance last year, while they looked forward to the availability of the IMCs for the remain
ing 16,947 farmers before the end of June.
‘The financial assistance to be released is timely with the rice farmer beneficiaries affected by the El Niño phenomenon,’ he said.
Guanco said farmers can use the amount for farm inputs like fertilizers in preparation for the wet season, but can be also for their other needs.
Source: Philippines News Agency