More than 1,500 farmers in the province of Tarlac have received cash assistance under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund-Rice Farmers Financial Assistance (RCEF-RFFA) program of the Department of Agriculture (DA).

Regional Rice Banner Program focal person Lowell Rebillaco said on Monday some 1,533 rice farmers in La Paz town were given cash aid as compensation for the income loss of rice farmers due to the drop in the selling price of palay and the increasing cost of fertilizer and other farm inputs.

Under the special provisions of the RCEF, the RFFA program provides rice farmers who are registered under the Registry Systems for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA), and tilling two hectares and below of land, unconditional cash assistance of PHP5,000.

The program sources its funds from the rice tariffs collected annually in excess of the PHP10 billion allocated for the RCEF.

“Patuloy ang DA, sa suporta ng provincial government of Tarlac through Office of the Provincial Agriculture, Development Bank of the Philippines and Universal Storefront Services Corporation (USSC) sa ating mga magsasaka upang mapataas ang kanilang ani at kita sa pagpapalay (The DA, with the support of the provincial government of Tarlac through the Office of the Provincial Agriculture, Development Bank of the Philippines and the Universal Storefront Services Corporation is continuously helping our palay farmers to increase their yield and income),” Rebillaco said in a social media post.

A total of 9,925 farmers in Tarlac have so far benefited from the program since the start of the distribution of RCEF-RFFA cash assistance in the province last November.

Those who benefited from the program, so far, were rice farmers from the towns of Anao, San Clemente, Sta. Ignacia, Paniqui, Camiling, Moncada, Mayantoc, Pura and Victoria.

Tarlac Governor Susan Yap thanked the DA for the assistance which she said is a big help to the farmers.

“Bilang isang agricultural province, patuloy po ang pagsasagawa natin ng mga programa, katuwang ang DA, upang matulungan ang ating mga rice farmers (As an agricultural province, we are continuously implementing programs, in partnership with DA, to help our rice farmers),” she said. (PNA)