In view of the declining palay prices since the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) took effect in March, the government will give P5,000 assistance to affected farmers tilling one hectare and below.
Agriculture Sec. William Dar, on the sidelines of the Philippines-India Trade Consultations held at Shangri-la Makati recently, said the cash assistance will be taken from the tariff being collected out of the RTL.
Around P3 billion will be needed for the 600,000 rice farmer-beneficiaries in the country.
“I’m hoping that this (cash assistance) will be given before Christmas,” Dar said.
He said about P11 billion has been collected from the RTL.
The DA chief also clarified that the cash assistance is different from the earlier loan assistance of P15,000 offered by the government to affected rice farmers under the Expanded Survival and Recovery Assistance Program for Rice Farmers (SURE Aid Program).
The P1.5B SURE Aid Program is the government’s initial relief response to rice farmers who are tilling one hectare of land and below and are affected by the initial impact of lower palay prices.
The one-time, zero-interest, no collateral loan of P15,000 is payable up to eight years.
Dar said the government has decided to defer the implementation of safeguard duties on rice imports.
“I presented the proposal to the Cabinet and their decision (is that) there might be an inflationary effect,” he said.
Dar said there will be a meeting of the Economic Development Cluster on Oct. 24 to include discussion on the proposed general safeguard duty on rice import. – PNA
April 17, 2024
