By Ellalyn De Vera-Ruiz Around 600,000 rice farmers will be receiving ₱5,000 assistance from the government this week to help augment their needs amid the enhanced community quarantine. Department of Agriculture Secretary William Dar (Department of Agriculture - Philippines / FACEBOOK / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO) “Our rice farmers will receive it as a direct cash transfer that they can use to buy either farm inputs, food for their families, or anything they need,” said Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary William Dar. Under the Financial Subsidy to Rice Farmers (FSRF) program, the ₱5,000 cash subsidy is part of the DA’s initiatives to assist small rice farmers who plant one hectare or less and located in 24 provinces not covered under the Rice Farmers Financial Assistance (RFFA) program. The ₱3-billion FSRF is earmarked under the 2020 General Appropriations Act. “The FSRF is another intervention to further support our farmers who are experiencing the effects of the quarantine measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Dar said. The DA, through the Land Bank of the Philippines, will start distributing this week the ₱5,000 FSRF cash subsidy to 600,000 farmers. An earlier batch of 600,000 farmers, tilling up to two hectares, continues to receive ₱5,000 each under the RFFA. “We vow to continue helping our small rice farmers, by implementing not only the FSRF and RFFA, but also other major programs such as the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, Sure Aid loan assistance program, and continuous palay-buying through the National Food Authority to boost farmers’ productivity and incomes,” Dar said.