A total of 26 farmers and fisherfolks were given a Fuel Subsidy Discount card and 3 Farmers Cooperatives and Associations were awarded Machinery and Equipment during the Ceremonial Launching of Fuel Discount Program under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund-Mechanization Component Technology at Dinalupihan Civic Center, Dinalupihan, Bataan on May 24, 2022.
The Department of Agriculture is vocal in promoting mechanization to modernize and enhance the productivity of the Agriculture and Fishery Section, however, the continuous surge of oil price hikes serves as a burden to achieve this goal as fuel expenses play an important factor in the operating cost in farming and fishing.
To cater, the amount of 500,000,000 will be used as a fuel discount to farmers and fisherfolk owning and operating agricultural and fishery machinery individually or farmer organizations, cooperatives, or associations pursuant to the Special Provision No. 20 of the General Appropriation Act (GAA) FY 2022.
Beneficiaries of the said program must be physically-abled corn farmers or fisherfolk who own and operate an agricultural and fishery machinery, might be individually or through Farmers Cooperatives and Associations (FCAs).DA provided a set of qualifications to be a beneficiary of the said program, for the category of individual farmers/FCAs, first, they must be registered at the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) and encoded in the Farmers and Fisherfolk Registry System, and second, they must own and operate functional machinery with proof of ownership.
For the category of individual fisherfolk/FCAs, they must be registered under FishR, also, they must be using motorized bancas 3 gross tons and below registered under BoatR, and lastly, they must be using legal fishing gears.
In partnership with the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) from the target of 99, as a starter, a total of Php 78,000.00 worth of fuel discount was given to 26 farmers and fisherfolk 9 coming from Bagac, 7 from Orani, 1 from Pilar, and 9 from Samal, each of them received a Php 3,000.00 via Fuel Discount Cards.
Align with the programs of the Department of Agriculture, the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization through the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund – Mechanizations Component Technology is expected to grant a total of 43 farm machinery and equipment with an estimated total cost of Php 32,730,036 to 26 Farmers Cooperatives and Associations (FCAs) from Bataan which 9 are from District I, 9 on District II, and 8 on District III.Machinery and equipment that will be dispersed are 1 stw, 1 mechanical weeder, 1 multi-stage, 1 single pass rice mill, 2 mobile rice mill, 2 impeller rice mill, 1 recirculating dryer, 2 rice combine harvester, 9 reapers, 1 riding-type transplanter, 1 walk-behind transplanter, 2 precision seeder, 2 floating tillers, 13 hand tractor, and 5 four-wheel tractors.
For yesterday’s launching, from District I the Parapal Small Water Impounding System Association of Hermosa received a 1-unit four-wheel tractor and 2-unit hand tractors, from District II Greatest Manimas Farmers and Fisherfolks Association of Balanga City received a 1-unit four-wheel tractor and 1-unit hand tractor, and lastly, from District III the Gintong Samahan ng Magsasaka ng Pagalanggang of Dinalupihan received a 1-unit four-wheel tractor and 1-unit riding-type transplanter.
