The Department of Agriculture (DA) said it will download P20 billion from the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) for distribution to farmers in September 2024.
Agriculture Secretary Francsico Tiu Laurel said the DA aimed to expedite the release of the funds, instead of the December 2024 schedule.
“Last year, P12 billion was released to farmers. This year, we intend to release the same amount,” he said during the pilot forum of the “Media Kapihan sa PCCI”.
Farmers will receive P12 billion in cash subsidies, while P7 billion was earmarked for crop diversification particularly supporting the pivot to cash crops. The remaining P1 billion would be allocated for land titling expenses of farmers.
The 2024 allocation came from the excess rice tariff collections in 2023 through the RCEF. Collection from rice tariffs reached P30 billion last year.
The RCEF, established under Republic Act 11203 or the Rice Tariffication Law, ushered in a shift from a quantitative restriction system on rice imports to a tariff-based system.
The law allocates P10 billion annually from rice import tariffs for farm mechanization and input support, with any excess going towards financial assistance for small rice farmers.
The DA earlier revealed plans to extend RCEF by another six years to spread the benefits of the program to other farmers across the country.
The program is expected to expire by 2024 covering only 20 percent of rice farms nationwide, with around 26,412 units of various farm equipment distributed from mid-2020 to March 3, 2024.
The DA said extending RCEF would expand the coverage to include more farmers.
