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DOF: Excess rice import tariffs to fund unconditional cash transfer for small farmers
The Department of Finance (DOF) said Tuesday that excess rice import tariffs will be used to fund an unconditional cash transfer program for small farmers bearing the brunt of falling prices of palay.
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said that the P10-billion that was set to be earmarked annually for the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) has already been reached, seven months after the Rice Tariffication Law took effect.An excess of P1.4 billion is already on hand as of October 31, he noted.
“The P10 billion is already fixed, it already has an allocation (for RCEF). The excess will be part of the P6 billion that will be allocated to the farmers for two years,” Dominguez said.
Farmers tilling lands two hectares and below are qualified to benefit from this program which will be allocated with P3 billion this year and P3 billion in 2020.
Dominguez quoted Dar as saying that the Department of Agriculture already has a list of beneficiaries.
President Rodrigo Duterte enacted the Rice Tariffication Law earlier this year, removing quantitative restrictions on rice imports and setting a 35% tariff for shipments from Southeast Asia.
Under the Rice Tariffication Law, the government should allot P10 billion annually to the RCEF for six years.
From this fund, P5 billion will be allocated to farm machinery and equipment, P3 billion to rice seeds, P1 billion to expanded credit assistance, and P1 billion to rice extension services such as farmers’ training.
Dominguez, however, pointed out that the Rice Tariffication law “significantly reduced inflation and helped drive gross domestic product growth to 6.2 percent in the July-September period.”
He characterized the drop in palay farm gate prices as a “short-term transition challenge” which he said is being addressed by the Duterte administration through various interventions.
