During the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Program Steering Committee (PSC) meeting on July 22, 2019, Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Manny F. Piñol emphasized the need to assist the farmers in the value chain.

“The only way out of this is to assist the farmers in the value chain from planting to marketing,” Secretary Piñol stated.

The Agriculture Secretary was referring to the reported price drop of fresh palay, specifically in the Luzon provinces.

He explained that if the farmers have milling facilities or they own a rice-processing complex, they will no longer depend on the price dictated by traders.

Land Bank of the Philippines President and CEO Cecilia C. Borromeo shared that the bank offers agri value chain financing programs. She also expressed her interest to partner with the DA in identifying farmers who are members of organizations to avail of fund for rice processing facilities.

Piñol encouraged the PSC to prepare a resolution urging banks to help the farmers establish their own processing center.

He also urged the group to help the farmers go through the value chain for them to earn more by processing and marketing their products, and for the country to have enough supply of rice in the long term.

“Every farmer should be included in the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) database. That is our target by the end of the president’s term,” Piñol added.

RSBSA, which contains the National Farmers and Fisheries Information System and the updated records of farmers and fishers, will serve as the main database for the integrated agriculture information system. It will also be used to identify the beneficiaries of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund.

Banks could refer to the RSBSA for a convenient validation of the farmers who would like to avail of the agri value chain financing programs. ### (Gumamela Celes Bejarin, DA-AFID)