Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 10) – Farmers affected by the pandemic are set to receive a ₱5,000 cash assistance under a new program by the Department of Agriculture (DA).
The DA and the Development Bank of the Philippines signed a memorandum of agreement on Monday for the guidelines in the distribution of cash aid under the Cash and Food Subsidy for Marginal Farmers and Fisherfolk (CFSMFF) program.
Each of the identified 890,794 farmer-beneficiaries will receive ₱3,000 in cash and ₱2,000 worth of food items starting this month.
“Every farmer really suffered during this pandemic, it’s not only our rice farmers. This time around, we are providing cash aid to corn, coconut, sugarcane, fishery farmers. It is our obligation to line up some social amelioration assistance,” Agriculture Secretary William Dar said during the signing ceremony.
DA Operations Director Roy Abaya said the beneficiaries of the CFSMFF program are 198,023 corn farmers, 346,534 coconut farmers, 29,702 sugarcane farmers, 287,128 fishery farmers, and 29,407 indigenous farmers and fishers.
The ₱4.5-billion CFSMFF program also aims to support local producers of chicken and rice and other micro, small, and medium enterprises that are in partnership with the DA.
The Bayanihan to Recover As One Act or the Bayanihan 2 Law allocated ₱24 billion to the DA for direct cash assistance and low-interest rate subsidies to qualified farmers, fisherfolk, and agri-fishery enterprises.
Last Oct. 21, the DA promised to give a ₱5,000 cash aid to nearly one million rice farmers tilling land measuring one hectare and below due to excess tariff revenues.
