Local government officials and farmer organizations are calling on government to extend the implementation of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) set to expire in June next year, according to the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech).
Dionisio Alvindia, PhilMech executive director, said he and the various agency officials have been getting petitions to extend the life of the fund.
“During the social preparation and training phases for qualified farmers’ groups and the actual distribution of farm machines under the RCEF mechanization program, we get pleas from both farmers and local officials to have the RCEF extended beyond June 2024,” Alvindia said.
PhilMech said that among local officials that formally petitioned to extend RCEF are from Kalinga who specifically asked if the program can be extended another six years.
The agency said lawyer John Paul Baguiwan, the representative of governor James Edduba of Kalinga Province, aired the appeal during the distribution of farm machines in the province in February.
PhilMech is implementing the RCEF-mechanization program with an allocation of P5 billion a year from 2019 through 2024, or 50 percent of the P10-billion annual allocation for the fund.
The balance is allocated for the distribution of high-yield seeds worth P3 billion; training and capacitating farmers of P1 billion; and credit support for the remaining P1 billion.
RCEF was created by the Rice Tariffication Law whose tariff collection from rice imports benefit rice farmers and the industry.
PhilMech said that Graciana Tombaga, Holy Trinity Cathedral multi-purpose cooperative chairman in Kalinga, would like to request Senator Cynthia Villar, who chairs the Senate’s Environment and Agriculture committee, to consider possibly extending the RCEF.
PhilMech leads the country’s agricultural and fishery mechanization program by developing protocols and processes for its implementation.
