Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman approved on Friday, 29 July, the release to the Department of Agriculture (DA) of the Notice of Cash Allocation (NCA) amounting to P8,053,474,140 for the provision and distribution of P5,000 in subsidy to 1,563,781 eligible rice farmers in the 3rd and 4th quarters of 2022.
The release of the NCA is in line with the implementation of the Rice Farmers’ Financial Assistance (RFFA) program, which aims to provide support to rice farmers affected by the Rice Tariffication Law.
“Our farmers deserve our help and care,” said Pangandaman. “The immediate release of cash assistance could provide relief to our rice farmers given the recent natural calamities they experienced. This unconditional cash assistance could also provide aid in securing farm inputs such as fertilizer and oil farm machinery.”
On 6 May, an initial NCA amounting to P894,827,950 was released by the DBM to DA based on the computed budgetary requirements for 173,753 qualified rice farmer-beneficiaries.
The NCA likewise covers the service fee, including the cost of card generation, for the Rice Competitive Enhancement Fund-RFFA under the Development Bank of the Philippines.