(Photo courtesy by Angilee Coralat, DA-Caraga, FOD-Technical Staff)
Rice farmers who are tilling 0.5 hectares to two hectares of land and registered in the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) will receive cash aid from the Rice Farmers Financial Assistance (RFFA) Program of the Department of Agriculture. They are the priority of the program and will receive ₱5,000 . As of press time, the RFFA continues to release cash aid worth ₱975,000 to 195 rice farmers in Cagwait, Surigao del Sur.
Farmers need not worry because the assistance is an unconditional cash transfer intended to help farmers affected by the implementation of the rice tariffication law. It is a nationwide response of the national government to rice farmers, particularly the marginal ones.
RFFA Program Regional Focal Person Hazel M. Colinares headed the releasing of the cash support in coordination with the Local Government Unit of the municipality of Cagwait. Amidst the threat of COVID-19 the Department will continue to reach more farmers for them to use the assistance for their daily subsistence,” Colinares said.
In the region, a total of 1,405 have been served by the program with total cash released worth ₱7 Million. Another 18,375 eligible rice farmers for the provinces of Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte, and Surigao del Sur will receive the financial assistance not later this month, Colinares added.
