The Department of Agriculture (DA-7)-Central Visayas distributed cash and food subsidy vouchers to 9,492 qualified marginal farmers in the region amounting to P47,460,000 at P5,000 each farmer for the first release for 2021 as part of the government's assistance during this pandemic time.
Each P5,000 voucher is divided into P3,000 cash and P2,000 worth of goods and this assistance is under the Cash and Food Subsidy for Marginal Farmers and Fishers (CFSMFF) Program of the Department of Agriculture (DA) funded under the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan 2).
According to Norberto Ouano, Corn Program Coordinator of DA-7 that the distribution of vouchers is still on-going for the farmers/beneficiaries of Cebu with 6,293; Bohol with 381; Negros Oriental with 2,3454 and Siquijor 273 recipients.
"These vouchers that were prepared and sent to us by the DA-Central Office had underwent data filtration and verification with the enrolled farmers in the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA). This is to ensure that the farmers have not received any government cash subsidy from other government agencies to avoid duplication of assistance," Ouano said.
In claiming the assistance, each farmer-beneficiary will present the voucher to MLhuiller, the accredited cash payout provider for the cash subsidy.
On food items, recognized food suppliers for Cebu are the Cebu People Multipurpose Coop., Lamac Multipurpose Coop (LMPC) and Compostela Market Vendors Cooperative (COMAVENCO).
These cooperatives will act as food suppliers of the P2,000 worth of food items, which include P1,000 worth of rice, P600 worth of dressed chicken and P400 eggs and during the distribution of vouchers, the accredited partners were also present to do their share, Ouano added.
"Ato i-convene ang atong mga partners sa pagdistribute sa vouchers, aron ig lugsong sa atong mga farmers sa poblacion aron sa pagclaim, ila na dayon madala kini nga mga ayuda pabalik sa ilaha. Dili na sila magbalik-balik sa poblacion," Ouano said. (We convene our partners during vouchers distribution so that when our farmers will go to the venue to claim the assistance, they will be able to bring the cash and food items back to their homes. No need for them to go back and forth to the venue.