PILI, Camarines Sur—The Department of Agriculture (DA) has extended its distribution at subsidized price of certified palay seeds to farmers in Bicol to help them recover from the damages left by typhoon Juaning nearly two months ago.

The distribution program started on Sept.16, last year, under the revived Rapid Seed Supply Financing Project (RaSSFiP) of the DA in support to the government’s Rice Self-Sufficiency Plan (RSSP) and was supposed to end last Sept. 15. The onslaught of typhoon Juaning that affected 75 percent of Bicol’s ricelands called for its extension.

The full damage report culled by the DA in Bicol showed that a total of 62,132 farmers of palay, corn and high value crops experienced losses. A total of 59,267 hectares were damaged with an estimated volume of 94,100 metric tons equivalent to P347.155 million.

Fortunately, the DA was able to set aside at least five percent of the total allocation of 16,000 bags for the region and this remaining stock is now being made available until the end of this month to farmers preparing their farms for replanting, DA regional executive director Jose Dayao said.

The cost of each bag of 40 kilograms is P1,200 but only P300 is shouldered by the farmer as P600 is charged to the RaSSFiP, P200 is shouldered by the provincial government and P100, by the municipal government, Dayao said.

“Although we do not see any shortage of rice supply in the region within this year until the first half of next year owing to the sufficient stocks being maintained by the National Food Authority (NFA), what worried us is that the productivity of the farmers affected would suffer if they are left alone without this subsidized seed distribution program,” he said. (PNA)