DA's fertilizer discount vouchers are 'good' but 'far from enough,' says KMP
Discount vouchers are not enough.
This was according to peasant group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) who said that apart from the government’s fertilizer discount vouchers, a P15,000 production subsidy is also “necessary,” reiterating that farmers also “need cash.”

“Dapat lang na magbigay sila ng ayuda pero kulang na kulang itong discount vouchers. Kailangan pa rin ng P15,000 production subsidy at gumawa ng paraan ang gobyerno para mas mapababa pa sa presyong abot kaya ng mga magsasaka ang presyo ng fertilizer at farm inputs (They should give aid but discount vouchers are not enough. The P15,000 production subsidy is still needed and the government should also make a way to lessen the price of fertilizer and farm inputs to a price that farmers can afford)," said KMP Chairperson Danilo Ramos in an official statement on Sunday, Nov. 6.
Under the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) Memorandum Order No. 65, the department will provide fertilizer vouchers to eligible beneficiaries which will be used in acquiring urea fertilizer. The initiative, as stated by DA, seeks to “ensure the timely availability of the needed fertilizer for rice production” in selected areas of the country.
“The granting of the P15,000 production subsidy for all rice farmers, including those still unregistered with the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture, becomes even more urgent and necessary after the damaging impact of STS Paeng on our rice production and food security," Ramos added.
Meanwhile, the discount voucher, according to DA, will have a value P1,131/ha for inbred and P2,262 for hybrid rice seeds.