GUIMBA, Nueva Ecija—President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday, September 13, launched a Department of Agriculture program aimed at assisting rice farmer-members of agricultural cooperatives across 1.2 million hectares nationwide. The program targets increasing their productivity and income by providing low-cost credit, financial assistance, and a ready market for their harvests. For the dry cropping season (2024-2025), it aims to offer credit facilities to 50,000 hectares of rice farmers and cooperatives, starting with established cooperatives under the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) in the Upper Pampanga River Integrated Irrigation Systems (UPRIIS), Magat River Integrated Irrigation System (MARIIS), and NIA systems serving the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).
During the launch of the Agri-Puhunan at Pantawid (APP) program, President Marcos informed around 5,000 farmers gathered in this rapidly developing agricultural town of Guimba, Nueva Ecija that the DA and DBP have secured the initial PHP 3.0 billion funding to provide a combination of low-interest loans and subsistence allowances for farmers.
Secretary Tiu Laurel said the APP program aligns with the Marcos administration’s goal to make farming more bankable, attract more and bigger investments, nurture a new generation of farmers by uplifting their living conditions , and ensure national food security and sustainability in the Philippines.
“We will provide our farmers with the financial resources needed to pursue their vocation. This initiative will extend credit to farmers for seeds and other inputs, crop insurance, subsistence allowance until harvest, and ensure a ready market with the National Food Authority and the Department of Social Welfare and Development for a predetermined volume and income,” said the DA chief.
The DA has signed agreements with Planters Products Inc. and the Development Bank of the Philippines to facilitate the seamless implementation of this program and anticipates that other government agencies will follow suit to improve the lives of those dependent on agriculture.
“We envision this program as a self-sustaining initiative that will finally unlock the potential of the agriculture sector, which provides two out of every ten jobs in the Philippines but contributes less than ten percent to the gross domestic product. We are hopeful that this initiative will be a game-changer for the sector and those who depend on farming,” said Secretary Tiu Laurel.
This DA initiative is designed to address the critical challenges faced by farmers in terms of access to financing, rising costs of inputs, and market instability. The APP program will offer enhanced credit facilities to those already holding intervention monitoring cards, which can be used to purchase seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, and ameliorants, and to pay for services through PPI-accredited merchants. Through this APP Program, the farmer-beneficiaries will have access to financial assistance, access to affordable essential inputs, and secure market opportunities, leaving the farmer to focus solely on labor.
For instance, a beneficiary of the APP program who plants rice on one hectare of land will receive a net amount of PhP58,000, covering production costs—inputs, land preparation, hauling including a subsistence allowance of PhP 32,000 which will be given PhP8,000.00 monthly for four (4) months to the beneficiary farmer and shall be covered with crop insurance. The APP proceeds will complement the government subsidies for inputs, services and insurance with an approximate amount PhP 14,500 per hectare. Additionally, the credit conduit may execute forward contract agreement.
Initial estimates by the DA suggest that a farmer participating in the APP program could earn net income around PhP 65,000 per cropping period based on 5 metric tons per hectare, inclusive of PhP 32,000 subsistence allowance, even after repaying the loan, its interest, and taxes, if they produce only five (5) metric tons per hectare. The credit conduit may execute forward contract agreements with National Food Authority (NFA) and/or NIA to ensure support price to participating farmer-members of accredited rice clusters – following their respective set of guidelines. Farmer-beneficiaries under the APP can sell any excess volume for additional income.
“The APP program essentially represents contract farming, which will guarantee a decent higher income for our farmers and provide the government with a stable supply of our staple food. It could also help reduce the volume of rice we import,” Secretary Tiu Laurel said. ###
