No one will be left behind.

A word of commitment of the Department of Agriculture in its quest to support the farmers in this time of the pandemic. 

According to Melody Guimary, in an interview over BahandisaKaumahan, a DA-Caraga radio program, as of January 4, 2021, around P3.1 million worth of vouchers have been distributed to qualified farmers in Caraga Region for the Cash and Food Subsidy for Marginal Farmers and Fishers (CFSMFF) Program.

“We already had distributed subsidy vouchers to a total of 639 farmers in Caraga Region out of 911 recipients endorsed to the central office,” she said.

Another batch is expected to receive the vouchers as soon as they will receive approval from the central office.

The voucher indicating a QR code has an amount of P5,000.00 each divided into P3,000.00 for cash and P2,000.00 for food subsidy.

“Each recipient will present their voucher to the private paying outlet specifically MLhuiller identified by the Development Bank of the Philippines as a program partner. The same voucher will be presented also for the food subsidy from the supplier identified by the Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Division (AMAD) of DA-Caraga,” Guimary explained. 

The food subsidy includes rice, dressed chicken, and table egg. 

She said that the program aims to help the corn farmers who are tilling of not more than 1-hectare farm and a residence from 4th to 6th municipalities or cities and registered in the Registry System for Basic Sector in Agriculture (RSBSA).

She clarified that the respective local government unit will be the one to submit the list of qualified farmers and the regional office will endorse the same to the central office for review and approval.

“The recipients will undergo a series of reviews to ensure that they haven’t received any government cash subsidy from other government agencies to prevent duplication,” Guimary explained.

The budget of the program had been included in the Bayanihan Act II to help marginal farmers to recover from the crisis brought about by the pandemic and calamities that hit the country.

“Under the program, Caraga Region has an indicative target of 2,395 recipients or an allocation of P11.9 million, Guimary added.  

Aside from marginal corn farmers, other recipients for CFSMFF are coconut farmers, fishers, and sugarcane planters, and Indigenous People (IPs).

Caraga Region has around 23 classified as 4th to 6th class municipalities and cities. (Aurelius P. Arais/DA-Caraga)