Senator Imee Marcos on Sunday called on the Department of Agriculture (DA) to speed up the release of almost P9-billion worth of government subsidies particularly for rice farmers who are now preparing for the wet planting season.

Marcos said rice farmers who have reached out to her office complained that the P5,000 cash assistance allocated for some 1.6 million farmers was slow in coming.

This, even after the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has announced the availability of the subsidy.

Marcos said the DA should not put farmers’ funds in time deposit since they are not meant to earn any interest.

“Huwag nang i-time deposit ang pondo para sa mga magsasaka at hindi naman yan para tumubo ng interest sa bangko. Paspasan na ang pag release niyan (Don’t put farmers’ subsidy funds in a time deposit since it isn’t meant to earn bank interest. Expedite the release, right now),” Marcos said.

The DA’s problem with its identification system was allegedly the problem why the funds could not be released, according to the LandBank of the Philippines.

But if the DA lacks the capability to update its Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA), Marcos said the agency should call on municipal agriculturists who have the list of farmers’ cooperatives in their areas of responsibility.

She said the RSBSA’s list of individual farmers given access to fertilizer and seed subsidies should not exclude but continue to support those whose livelihood has grown into value-added products.

The senator warned there could be low farm yields and even food shortages if farmers are unable to use their subsidies to buy fertilizers and other farm inputs.

“The DA is creating bigger problems for itself if it delays the release of farmer subsidies,” Marcos warned.

“Farm yields for the country’s staple crops cannot be maintained, much less increased, if farmers can’t afford fertilizers and quit their livelihood,” she pointed out.