Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III and Agriculture Secretary William Dar directed over the weekend the implementation of assistance to help rice farmers adjust to lower paddy prices following the passage of Republic Act (RA) No. 11203 or the rice tariffication law that has slashed the retail cost of the country’s staple.

The key action is unconditional cash assistance for farmers, allocated and distributed by expanding the ongoing Survival and Recovery (SURE) program of the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC).

The ACPC is an agency attached to the Department of Agriculture (DA).

The expansion of SURE to assist the rice farmers will also build on the good experience under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

This adjustment assistance will be in addition to the programs and projects mandated under the Rice Competitive Enhancement Fund (RCEF), the annual P10-billion fund established under RA 11203 to be sourced from the Bureau of Custom (BOC)’s collection of tariffs on rice imports by private traders following the enactment of this law.

“This unconditional cash assistance program is meant to help cushion the initial impact of lower palay prices on our farmers as they transition to the new rice tariffication regime,” Dominguez said. “For the long haul, the RCEF facility under RA 11203 will help sharpen the global competitiveness of our farmers by way of an array of programs providing them with access to farm machinery and equipment, high-yield seeds, cheap credit and skills training programs on farm mechanization and modern farming techniques.”

Dominguez added that he expects that tariff revenue from rice imports in 2019 will likely exceed P10 billion, a development that will assure full funding of the RCEF.

The annual tariff revenues in excess of P10 billion will enable further adjustment assistance for rice farmers for the remainder of the Duterte administration, he said.

Dar, who chairs the ACPC Council, will convene the Council soonest to get the SURE assistance started right away. Dominguez is a member of the ACPC Council.

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