BAGUIO CITY – The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Friday urged workers in the farming industry to get registered in the government’s Registry System for Basic Agriculture (RSBA) so they could easily avail of assistance.
In a phone interview on Friday, Aida Pagtan, chief information officer of the DA in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), said the RSBA is a nationwide list used in determining whether a person is a legitimate industry member entitled to benefits and assistance provided by the government.
“Just like the Rice Farms Financial Assistance (RFFA) that came from the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) distributed to the different agricultural product growers – vegetables, rice, and fish growers – the beneficiaries were prioritized [based on] the RSBA,” she said.
She said a farmer can go straight to the DA to submit a registration form that is downloadable from the website. It must, however, be certified by the village, the organization, or the cooperative where the person is a member attesting that the individual is engaged in agriculture production.
Pagtan also shared a video of Leonora Carpio, barangay agriculture extension worker (BAEW) of Tinongdan, Itogon, Benguet, who shared her experience during the RFFA distribution in Itogon on May 8. “You should register even if there is no relief good at the right time, you will benefit from that registration,” Carpio said.
Carpio said in the past, it was difficult to encourage farmers to register for fear that they would be taxed for their minimal sources of income. But when they saw the importance of the system, the farmers themselves started to register themselves voluntarily.
A registered member receives an identification card that has a corresponding number.
She shared an experience of a former overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who went to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration to ask for assistance for her agricultural project.
In Ibaloi language, Carpio said: “She was asked if she is registered with the RSBA and was told to show her identification or to give her RSBA registration number. Luckily, she had already registered and had her identification so she was able to show the requirement that was needed for the assistance she was asking for.” (PNA)
