ROXAS CITY—A total of 31,347 small rice farmers in the province will each receive P5,000 as part of the Department of Agriculture’s Financial Subsidy to Rice Farmers (FSRF) to help augment their needs amid the quarantine period.
This was disclosed by Department of Agriculture (DA) Regional Executive Director Remelyn Recoter in the April 27 episode of “The Governor’s Update,” a nightly online media program platform produced by the Capiz provincial government as a venue to address Capiceños on the latest COVID-19 updates and advisories.
“It is a payroll system thru Land Bank of the Philippines,” Recoter said, adding that an initial list has been submitted to the central office last April 27 for the downloading of the quick response funds to the local LBP branches.
She added that the DA’s “social amelioration” is for farmers tilling a one-hectare or less rice land based on the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA).
RSBSA is facilitated by the Municipal Agriculturist Offices in the province and DA at the start of this year.
It is an electronic compilation or database of basic information of farmers, farm laborers, fishermen and target beneficiaries of agriculture-related programs and services, Recoter said.
She added that the agency has an Expanded Survival and Recovery Assistance (SURE) Aid for COVID-19-affected farmers.
SURE Aid is not a grant but a loan assistance worth P25,000 payable in 10 years with no interest.
“KADIWA Ni Ani At Kita” is another quick response of the agency to link farmer producers with the public consumers amidst the COVID-19 crisis.
“We are helping the mobility of the farmers especially in making their products accessible to the public,” Recoter said.
KADIWA schedule in Capiz is held every Tuesday and Thursday at the Provincial Park in Roxas City. (Alex Lumaque/PIA Capiz)
