RICE FARMERS in four provinces in Central Luzon will receive a total of P575 million under the Rice Farmers Financial Assistance (RFFA) program, the Department of Agriculture (DA) reported on Tuesday. The beneficiaries, who will get P5,000 each, consist of 115,000 rice farmers from Bataan, Pampanga, Tarlac, and Zambales. Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar handed over cash cards from the Landbank of the Philippines and notices of cash grant from the Development Bank of the Philippines during the program’s launch held February 3 at the Dinalupihan Civic Center in Bataan. Mr. Dar also announced that Central Luzon will receive P1.6 billion in interventions this year through the DA Regional Field Office. These include assistance under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), Solar Power Irrigation System project for rice and high-value crops, Youth Agri-Entrepreneurship program, seeds, and other farm inputs. The interventions, he said, are intended to enable the agriculture sector attain a 2% growth target.

BATAAN
“Out of the P1.6 B, Bataan province will receive P276 M,” Mr. Dar said. The “1 Bataan Agriculture Innovation and Technology,” which forms part of the province’s commitment during last year’s Food Summit, was also presented during the event. The project includes a proposed private and public partnership (PPP) between the provincial government and Israeli firm Agrilever. The PPP venture, which will focus on precision farming, will involve technical assistance on vegetable drip irrigation technology, business and financing services, and modern processing facilities, among others. “Agri-modernization and agri-industrialization are the ways forward,” Mr. Dar said.

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