The Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) is now in motion with the release of P2.462 billion for two of its component programs.

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM), through the Agricultural Credit Policy Council, released P244 million to the Development Bank of the Philippines and P180 million to the Land Bank of the Philippines for the RCEF-Credit Program to be loaned out to individual farmers and DA-accredited cooperatives and associations.

For the RCEF-Seed Program, the DBM also released to the DA-Philippine Rice Research Institute P2.038 billion to promote, acquire, and distribute certified seeds of NSIC Rc222, Rc160, Rc216, and 16 other location-specific varieties in the regions. Farmers listed in the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) may now receive the seed support.

Funds for the mechanization and extension services programs will be available soon following the DBM’s issuance of the Special Allotment Release Order to DA-Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization, DA-Agricultural Training Institute, and Technical Skills Development Authority. These form part of the P10 billion fund allocated for RCEF in 2019.

Seed distribution will commence in October for Dry Season 2019-2020. This will cover 57 provinces, with a total area of more than 1 million hectares. A farmer will receive a maximum of 80kg of certified inbred rice seeds for two consecutive seasons depending on the size of his/her farm.

Acting Agriculture Secretary William Dar has instructed the implementing agencies to fast-track the rollout of RCEF assistance to our rice farmers. Preparatory activities are geared toward this.

1. Agreement with local seed grower associations and cooperatives as seed suppliers is already in place to ensure the availability and positioning of seeds for October to December distribution.
2. DBP signed a memorandum of agreement with Nagkakaisang Magsasaka ng Isabela Agricultural Cooperative and PayMaya Inc. to provide financial services to rice farmers through e-wallet cards. With the provincial government of Isabela, we are currently gathering data in barangays for bank account opening of beneficiaries.
3. Land Bank has received loan applications from 97 individual farmers and 7 cooperatives with a total loan amount of P38.07 million.
4. Conduct of social mobilization activities to engage local government units in the program implementation in 57 target provinces involving 747 cities/municipalities.
5. Completed the identification, evaluation, and field validation of 4 out of 6 clusters of potential farmer cooperative and association recipients of machines.
6. Evaluation/shortlisting of machine recipients per municipality is ongoing, with 3 out of 6 clusters completed.
7. Extension activities initially focused on capacity enhancement of implementers to ensure technical efficiency in the ground:
8. Training of Trainers on the Modernized Production of High-Quality Inbred Rice and Seeds to 30 farm school owners, farmer leaders, and managers
9. Refresher courses for 66 Seed Program Regional and Provincial Coordinators
10. Two batches of Mechanization Specialists Training on Operation and Maintenance of Rice Farm Machinery
11. Development and production of information, education, and communication materials for dissemination
12. Regional training programs and technical briefings for the farmers have started this month.

The Secretary has created the DA-led National Program Coordinating Team (DA-NPCT) to ensure integration of RCEF program components, and complementation with the National Rice Program.

The DA-NPCT has also finalized the protocol for updating the RSBSA. The initial validation shows 1,111,588 unique farmers with 618,725 hectares in 48 out of 57 target provinces from the original version of the RSBSA. The updated RSBSA will be available this month to be used as basis in identifying RCEF beneficiaries.

With this, farmers will be assured that the RCEF is now ready to roll to help them increase their productivity and income.

Any query on this matter may be directed to the Office of Spokesperson and Assistant Secretary for Communications and Media Affairs, headed by Mr. Noel O. Reyes, with telephone number 02-9288758 to 65 local 2853, or the Rice Task Force/Crisis Management Team at 02-9269172. ###