P1B RCEP empowers Davao farmers

Over P1 Billion fund was allocated to the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Program (RCEP) of the Department of Agriculture – Davao (DA-Davao), which benefited thousands of farmers in its six years of implementation.

In the fourth special Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas held Tuesday, June 18, 2024 at Cinema 6, SM Lanang, Davao City, DA-Davao presented its significant accomplishments, including the agency’s RCEP that focuses on its four key areas, the rice farm mechanization, inbred rice seed development and promotion, expanded credit assistance, and extension services, where funds have been allocated and farmers in Davao Region benefited.

DA-Davao regional executive director Macario D. Gonzaga revealed that the RCEP’s Mechanization Component that started in 2019 received a total fund allocation amounting to P1,155,900,883.71 specifically for the five provinces of the Davao Region as of this year.

The five provinces are Davao del Sur, Davao del Norte, Davao de Oro, Davao Oriental, and Davao Occidental.

The annual breakdown of the total fund allocation is as follows, P198,943,260 in 2019, P205,264,481 in 2020, P212,947,029.71 in 2021, P154,862,046 in 2022, P236,945,267 in 2023, and P146,938,800 in 2024. 

RCEP’s mechanization component includes the Farmers Cooperative and Associations (FCA’s) beneficiaries of rice fund and the Farm Machineries distributed in the region.

Moreover, Gonzaga also shared the DA-Davao’s intervention during the dry and wet season, specifically providing bags of hybrid seeds to the farmers under the Seed Component implementation for 2024. 

“During the dry season, we were able to intervene and give our assistance around P1,051,920; this is again allocated to the five provinces of Davao Region,” Gonzaga said, adding it benefited a total of 5,401 farmers. 

During the wet season, he also emphasized that DA-Davao was able to deliver 51,306 bags of 20 kilos of hybrid seeds that benefited 14,308 farmers across the region.

Gonzaga also stated that a total of P4,915,000 allocated fund was also used for various training under the Program’s Extension Component Implementation for 2024. Training of Trainers on the Production of High-Quality Inbred Rice Seeds and Farm Mechanization and RCEF Training on Inbred Rice Seed Production and Certification for Deputized and Designated Seed Inspectors were mentioned, among many others.

DA-Davao, emphasized that the agency’s initiatives are anchored to the goals of achieving food security for the Filipino people and developing the agriculture and fisheries sector in the region.

Gonzaga reassured the public of the DA-Davao Region’s commitment to inclusive support, stating, “Our office is open to anybody,” particularly welcoming farmers in need of assistance.