ANTIQUE – More than 800 farmers in Patnongon town received P5,000 in financial assistance under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) of the Rice Farmers Financial Assistance (RFFA) Program of the Department of Agriculture (DA).
Municipal Agriculture Office (MOA) personnel and the DA distributed the cash aid on Wednesday, May 9 at the town’s multi-purpose hall.
The farmers are registered in the Registry System for the Basic Sector in Agriculture with farmland of 2 hectares or less.
Municipal Agriculturist Bernardita Salvador said the financial assistance is timely, especially as the dry season comes and farmers are less likely to venture into planting rice due to the lack of water.
Retired Colonel Luciano Saiyo, who attended the distribution on behalf of Vice Governor Edgar Denosta, Committee Chair on Agriculture, said it is a big help to farmers who are facing the challenges of expensive farm inputs and poor rice production.
Farmers from Laua-an town also received P5,000 in financial assistance./PN
