The Department of Agriculture (DA) said that rice farmers have started getting cash aid from the Rice Farmers Financial Assistance Program, which is funded by the excess tariff collection.

In a statement, the DA said that over two million farmers with below two hectares of tilling have been receiving a P5,000 cash grant through the excess tariff collection from last year’s rice importations.

The 2022 excess tariff totaled P12.7 billion.

Agriculture Undersecretary for Rice Industry Development Leocadio S. Sebastian said that the smallholder rice farmers may utilize the cash grant for their daily and personal needs.

With the existing Cash Assistance to Filipino Farmers Act of 2021, President Marcos approved the release of the financial package.

He believed it would be beneficial for the farmers in facing the high production prices, as well as retain productivity in facing the climate challenges.

With that, over 458,435 farmers were currently granted monetary aid, while 44,719 farmers were able to withdraw from the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and the Universal Storefront Services Corp. (USSC).

“Farmers from the Cordillera Autonomous Region, CARAGA, and MIMAROPA were among the first to receive their cash assistance, this is expected to increase in the following days as the letters of instruction from [our] regional offices are issued,” said the DA.

Moreover, the Agriculture government is also expecting more farmers to avail of the cash assistance in the coming days by settling them to USSC physical stores nationwide or via BancNet automated teller machine (ATM) withdrawal.

Farmers may also get their cash with their Interventions Monitoring Card (IMC), which contains a Europay, Mastercard, and Visa (EMV) chip and a unique quick response (QR) code linked to the farmer that is registered in the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA).

USSC President and Chief Executive Officer Eckie Gonzales shared his gratitude for the e-money issuer’s support to farmers.

“Through our partnership with DBP, we have issued e-wallets to the rice farmers, ensuring that they are finally included in our financial system,”  he said.

“Because of this, they can now reap the benefits of quick cash transfers to their account, which they can access at any time, any day of the week, through our mobile app or through any BancNet ATM.” he added.