A total of 1,098 farmers in Sagay City received cash cards from the Department of Agriculture under its Rice Farmers Financial Assistance (RFFA) at the Taliambong Activity Center, Thursday, July 6.
The distribution led by the City Agriculture Office gave out cash cards with P5,000 worth of financial assistance from the DA, a press release from Sagay City said.
City Agriculturist Julie Delima said that the program aims to assist farmers in buying fertilizers for their rice farms, which are costly.
The 1,098 RFFA beneficiaries comprised 80 percent of the total rice farmers in Sagay.
Delima said that DA is giving out cash cards for the farmers to get their assistance directly from the Land Bank of the Philippines.
The financial assistance came from the RFFA funding in 2021 but the distribution was moved to this month because of the pandemic.
RFFA is part of DA’s Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund where the agency allocates P10 billion for farm machinery and farmers’ assistance to improve productivity in the country.
Delima said that in terms of farm machinery, Sagay has already received equipment for the local government unit and two irrigators associations in Barangays Puey and Colonia Divina.
She also hopes that in the coming tranches, more rice farmers in Sagay can be qualified to be a beneficiary of the program.
During the distribution, Sangguniang Panlungsod Committee on Agriculture Chairperson Perfecto Marañon urged the farmer-beneficiaries to use the cash assistance wisely to improve their farming.
He also thanked the DA and LBP for their support to the local farmers and he assured more programs and projects for them through local legislation.
“The times now are changing and we need to adapt,” he said in his speech, adding “The city government is looking for ways to help the farmers more in addressing the needs of the times.”*