The members of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) Program Steering Committee (PSC) met on June 13, 2022 to discuss the program implementation status and updates from the mechanization, seed distribution, extension, and credit components.
During the meeting, the PSC also tackled the updates on the RCEF convergence plan and implementation and the Rice Tariffication Law mid-term evaluation status.
The PSC meeting was chaired by Department of Agriculture (DA) Undersecretary for Research, Innovation, Training and Extension Support and Chief-of-Staff Leocadio Sebastian on behalf of Secretary William Dar.
After the presentation of the Convergence Plan and its status, Undersecretary Sebastian said that the RCEF convergence must already be seen on the ground. Thus, he directed the RCEF Program Management Office to prepare the necessary guidelines for immediate implementation.
The PSC is composed of representatives from concerned government agencies including the DA, National Economic and Development Authority, Department of Finance, Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK), Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), among others.
Key officials of the DA-Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech), DA-Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), DA-Agricultural Training Institute (ATI), DBP, LANDBANK, and TESDA attended the meeting. ### (Photos by Alan Jay Jacalan, DA-AFID)
