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PHILIPPINE government has stepped up efforts to provide fertilizer vouchers to farmers in order to bolster their rice production.
This comes after the Department of Agriculture (DA) issued updated guidelines on the implementation of a fertilizer discount voucher project under the National Rice Program.
Under Memorandum Order 65, the project shall cover regions that planted with inbred and hybrid rice seeds except for the National Capital Region (NCR) and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Through the project, the agency shall provide fertilizer vouchers to eligible beneficiaries which will be used in acquiring urea fertilizers in a bid to cushion the potential impacts of “under application of urea fertilizer to palay production and ultimately food security.”
“The use of fertilizer vouchers offers an alternative to farmers with lowered purchasing power to buy a sufficient volume of urea recommended for their rice area,” the DA’s MO 65 said.
According to DA, a supplemental fund sourced from an unprogrammed regular agency fund, over and above the 2022 General Appropriations Act (GAA) budget has been released to enable rice farmers to meet the recommended urea fertilizer “thereby, securing rice production in the country.”
The fund, the DA said, shall be used by beneficiaries as a discount on the retail price of urea fertilizers.
The activity aims to ensure the timely availability of the needed fertilizer for rice production in the targeted areas through the distribution of fertilizer vouchers, the DA said.
The 2022 Wet Season implementation is funded under the 2022 GAA while the 2022-2023 Dry Season implementation will be funded under the 2022 GAA and the unprogrammed funds.
For the Dry Season 2022-2023, the project aims to enable rice farmers to supplement the requirement for urea fertilizer for their rice production; to mitigate the impacts of the projected decline in production due to low usage of urea fertilizer and attain the target yield of 4.22 metric tons per hectare of palay for 2023, and to stabilize the rice supply situation in the country despite challenges in the price of commercial fertilizers.
In determining the voucher value per cropping season, the DA said, the amount or fund source is divided into the number of hectares to be served under the project as a complementation to the inbred and hybrid seed distribution program of the Rice Program.
