ANTIQUE – The Department of Agriculture (DA) released P45.96-million financial assistance to 9,192 farmers from six municipalities in this province.
The financial aid provided under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) benefited 1,580 farmers from the municipality of Tobias Fornier; 423 from Anini-y; San Remigio (1,958); Sibalom (2,546); Belison (848); and Patnongon (1,837), said DA Antique Provincial Coordinating Office officer-in-charge Sonie Guanco.
“Each farmer who owns two hectares and below of farmland is being given P5,000 financial assistance so that they would have money to buy their needed farm inputs,” said Guanco, adding that the distribution of funds began on Jan. 9.
He said farmer-beneficiaries may use the amount to buy fertilizers, seeds and other needs.
Sibalom, which is the rice granary of the province, has the most number of farmers that received assistance on Wednesday, Jan. 11, amounting to P12.7 million.
The funds were released through the contracted money remittance center of the Development Bank of the Philippines , one of the bank partners of the DA for the program.
Next week, beneficiaries from Bugasong and Valderrama will get their share.
Guanco said the release of financial assistance was temporarily halted on Jan. 13 until 16 because the personnel of the remittance center will be in neighboring Aklan province for the release of a similar assistance.
DA targets to provide assistance to 18,342 farmers throughout the province. (PNA)/PN
