DA to review rice program after seed merchants nixed voucher system
FARM WORK A farmer spreads fertilizer granules as he walks through his rice field in Bambang town, Nueva Vizcaya province. Rice farmers in the country, many of them still relying on manual labor to produce the staple, worry about competition from cheaper imported rice flooding local markets. —KARLSTON LAPNITEN/FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Tuesday that it will review and revise the voucher system of the National Rice program.
According to DA Secretary Francisco Tiu-Laurel Jr., this is to increase rice production and in view of reports that merchants do not honor vouchers as these forms have not been paid yet, while payables have reached P892 million.
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The system involves the DA giving the vouchers to farmers which they can exchange for various products such as seeds or fertilizers to DA-accredited merchants.
Meanwhile, the DA said the proposed revisions to the voucher system include the use of physical vouchers or intervention monitoring cards.
Tiu-Laurel likewise said another proposed review, which will look at the type of crops that best fit certain planting locations, will increase agricultural outputs and provide cheaper food for consumers.
“By doing this, we will not only increase farm output but optimize the use of post-harvest and milling facilities to reduce wastage,” he said.
“It will increase farm yield, boost financial returns for farmers, and substantially bolster supply that could eventually bring down food cost for consumers,” he added.
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“We cannot allow farmers to plant different types of rice seeds in areas around rice processing centers. Diverse rice varieties will make it impossible to process all of them efficiently,” the agriculture secretary noted.
