VALENCIA CITY, BUKIDNON – To mitigate the impact of escalating fertilizer prices, the Department of Agriculture – Regional Field Office 10 (DA-RFO 10) under the helm of Regional Executive Director Jose Apollo Y. Pacamalan launches its Fertilizer Discount Voucher distribution for this year, on July 5, this city.
Said fertilizer assistance program aims to distribute Php3.4K worth of fertilizer subsidy per hectare of area to eligible rice farmers.
For its first batch of distribution, Rice Program focal person Chona H. Nacalaban shared that around 2,109 farmers tilling 3,275 hectares from Valencia City, the largest rice-producing city in the province of Bukidnon, will be given Php11-million worth of fertilizer vouchers.
Rice farmers may choose between Urea (46-0-0) and Complete (14-14-14) fertilizer which can be claimed from their preferred DA-accredited merchants using their vouchers.
DA-10 eyes to distribute Php34-million during the wet season while a total of Php68-million has been allotted for 2024 for the city.
Beneficiaries are those rice farmers registered under the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) who have also received hybrid seeds from the DA and inbred seeds from the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice).
Rice farmers in clustered areas may receive fertilizer support up to ten hectares while those in non-clustered areas may receive up to a maximum of five hectares.
For his part, Jose R. Panes, President of the Pulangi River Irrigation System Confederation of Irrigators Association (PRISCIA) shared, “We are thankful for the DA’s fertilizer subsidy program which will augment our fertilizer needs.”
Meanwhile, Bukidnon Provincial Operations Center chief Janet D. Lopez, DVM relayed that the agency is thankful for farmers who keep on planting rice. She also assured them that the DA-10 will continue to have programs and projects that will help rice farmers’ production.