THE Department of Agriculture (DA) has launched a P3-billion funding program to support farmers tilling 1.2 million hectares of rice fields nationwide.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. on Friday said the Agri-Puhunan at Pantawid (APP) program aims to increase rice productivity and income, provide low-interest loans, subsistence allowance and market access to farmer-members of agricultural cooperatives.
“The APP program essentially represents contract farming, which will guarantee a decent, higher income for our farmers and provide the government with a stable supply of our staple food. It could also help reduce the volume of rice imports,” Tiu Laurel said at the program’s launch in Nueva Ecija, with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in attendance, along with 5,000 farmers.
The program will extend credit to farmers for seeds and other inputs, crop insurance, subsistence allowance until harvest season, and ensure a ready market with the National Food Authority and the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
The DA tapped Planters Products Inc. (PPI) and the Development Bank of the Philippines to facilitate the APP.
“We envision this program as a self-sustaining initiative that will finally unlock the potential of the agriculture sector, which provides two out of every 10 jobs in the Philippines but contributes less than 10 percent to the gross domestic product,” Tiu Laurel said.
“We are hopeful this will be a game changer for the sector and those who depend on farming,” Tiu Laurel added.
For the 2024-2025 dry cropping season, the APP is extending credit facilities to agricultural cooperatives with members working in 50,000 hectares of land.
Initially, the program will include established cooperatives registered with the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) in the Upper Pampanga River Integrated Irrigation Systems, Magat River Integrated Irrigation System and NIA systems serving the Cordillera Administrative Region.
Intervention monitoring cards
Farmers holding intervention monitoring cards are qualified to avail themselves of the enhanced credit facilities of the APP. The card can be used to purchase seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and ameliorants, and to pay for services through PPI-accredited merchants.
For instance, an APP beneficiary who plants rice on 1 hectare of land will receive a net amount of P58,000 covering production costs — inputs, land preparation, hauling and a subsistence allowance of P32,000 broken down to P8,000.00 monthly for four months.
APP proceeds will be used for government subsidies for inputs, services and insurance.
Farmers joining the APP can each earn around P65,000 per cropping period based on 5 metric tons per hectare. This is inclusive of the P32,000 subsistence allowance, even after repaying the loan, its interest and taxes.
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