The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Monday said it is gearing up to implement a P500- million subsidy that will help farmers and fisherfolk cope rising fuel costs driven by higher global oil prices.
In a news statement, DA said the government has allotted P500 million this year to bankroll a fuel subsidy program for the agriculture sector to mitigate the impact of rising oil prices to food production. The fund is stipulated under the Special Provision 20 of the General Appropriations Act (GAA) for Fiscal Year 2022 or Republic Act (RA) 11639.
“We sincerely thank President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and the honorable members of the Senate and House of Representatives for approving the fuel subsidy program that appropriates P500 million for the fuel subsidy program that will benefit millions of Filipino farmers, fishers and consumers nationwide,” Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said.
“The fuel discount will definitely help reduce the production and transport costs of major farm and fishery products, and subsequently temper their respective market prices, thus benefiting producers and consumers alike,” Dar added.
Special Provision 20 stipulates that a fuel discount program would be in effect if the average Dubai crude oil price, based on Meat of Platts Singapore for three months reaches or exceeds $80 per barrel. The beneficiaries of the program must be farmers or fisherfolk who own and operate agricultural and fishery machinery individually or through a farmers organization or cooperative.
Fisherfolk should also be registered in the government’s system including their fishing vessels while individual farmers who own or operate a farm machinery must present a proof of ownership to be eligible for the subsidy.
“The DA Regional Field Units and BFAR (Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources) Regional Offices shall issue fuel vouchers to qualified beneficiaries to claim the fuel discount, and likewise authorized to deduct one and half percent (1.5 percent) of said amount for administrative and other operational expenses,” it read.
“The DA shall furnish the Oversight Committee on Agriculture a copy of the implementing guidelines and submit quarterly reports on the implementation of the program,” it added.
Agriculture Undersecretary for Operations Ariel T. Cayanan said the target beneficiaries of the program must be registered with the DA’s Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) and BFAR’s fisherfolk registry system.
The DA said Cayanan chaired last week a meeting of concerned government officials to “ flesh out the implementing guidelines of the fuel discount program.” The discussions during the meeting included the prioritization criteria, amount of discount voucher to be provided to qualified beneficiaries, and creation of a technical working group (TWG) that will oversee the crafting and finalization of the guidelines and program implementation.
“The TWG will issue regular updates on the matter,” the DA added.
A news wire report indicated that Brent crude futures on Monday inched up to $88.7 per barrel while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures increased slightly to $85.86 per barrel. 30