The Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Saturday it will be distributing P3 billion worth of financial assistance to local farmers through over-the-counter bank withdrawal.

Agriculture Secretary William Dar, during the Laging Handa briefing, said the agency’s partner institutions Land Bank of the Philippines, and Development Bank of the Philippines for its the Financial Subsidy to Rice Farmers (FSRF) experienced constraints in producing cash cards to be distributed to farmer-beneficiaries due to the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).

To expedite the distribution of the P5,000 cash subsidy to farmers who are experiencing the effects of the quarantine measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dar said, “Ang decision namin ay ipamimigay na itong ayuda sa hindi pa nakatanggap thru over-the-counter scheme.”

The Agriculture chief said the LandBank and the DBP will be furnished with a list of farmer-beneficiaries.

Under the FSRF program, farmers who plant one hectare or less will receive P5,000 cash grant. These farmers are located in 24 provinces not covered under the Rice Farmers Financial Assistance (RFFA) program —the DA’s cash subsidy program for those affected by the rice tariffication law.

The FSRF is bankrolled under the 2020 General Appropriations Act (GAA), similar to the RFFA which covers farmers that till up to two hectares of land that covered an earlier batch of 600,000 farmers given P5,000 each./Stacy Ang