The Department of Agriculture (DA) 1 (Ilocos Region) announced on Monday the release of nearly PHP20 million in cash aid, benefiting more than 8,000 small farmers and fisherfolk as recipients in Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte provinces.

In an interview, Mark Ariel Agresor, DA-1’s senior science specialist, said the beneficiaries received PHP2,325 each over the weekend, covering the second phase of the program.

The program’s initial phase took place in the region during the third week of April.

The cash assistance is part of the PHP10-billion Presidential Assistance to Farmers and Fisherfolk Program (PAFFP), designed to support small-scale producers facing high production costs and volatile fuel prices nationwide.

The assistance targets rice farmers tilling two hectares or less, as well as corn and sugarcane farmers registered under the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA).

Fisherfolk registered under the National Program for Municipal Fishing Vessels and Gears Registration or BoatR are also included in the unconditional cash assistance program.

“Thank you for supporting the farmers, Mr. President. We barely make ends meet because of the high cost of diesel,” Ronel Abad, a registered farmer from Barangay San Lorenzo, San Nicolas town, said in the vernacular during an interview by the Philippine News Agency on Monday.

In between tilling a parcel of land planted with rice and corn, Abad said he uses a tricycle-for-hire registered under his elderly mother to augment his family’s needs.

William Baniaga, a farmer from Vintar town, also expressed gratitude to various government interventions that he continues to avail through the local government and other concerned government agencies that look after them.

“Life is hard these days because of increasing fuel and food prices, so thank you to the government for the sustained assistance,” he said.

According to the DA, more farmers are expected to receive their payouts as government services continue to be brought closer to people.

DA records indicate that 480,080 farmers across the region are slated to benefit from the program as the distribution expands beyond the pilot phase. (PNA)