The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) expects to distribute over ₱1 billion in Emergency Cash Transfer (ECT) aid to small farmers and workers whose sugarcane crops have been damaged by Red-Striped Soft Scale Insects (RSSI) in Negros Island, Regional Director Arwin Razo said on Thursday, Sept. 3.
Disbursements will continue in Amlan, Negros Oriental, as well as Sagay City, La Carlota City, Talisay City, Kabankalan City, E.B. Magalona, Calatrava, and Hinoba-an in Negros Occidental, he said.
Bacolod City has also submitted its list of affected farmers and workers for inclusion in the program.
As of Aug. 28, the agency has already released ₱280.8 million to 27,304 beneficiaries in the Negros Island.
Small farmers in Negros Occidental have received ₱10,325 each, while those in Negros Oriental were given ₱10,125, calculated based on each province’s daily minimum wage, Razo said.
Razo said he has requested additional funding to cover more than 100,000 sugarcane farmworkers and over 90,000 more small farmers in Negros.
“It’s not only the landowners—the farmworkers also belong to the marginalized and vulnerable sector affected by the RSSI infestation ,” Razo pointed out.
The DSWD projects the ECT distribution will continue until the fourth quarter of this year.*
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