Villar congratulates 6,000 Nueva Ecija farmers who received first batch of farm machinery under RCEF

Sen. Cynthia Villar congratulated the first batch of farmer-beneficiaries who received farm machinery and equipment under the law creating the P10 billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF).

In a turn-over ceremony held at the Philippine Center for Post Harvest Development and Modernization (PhilMech) Science City of Munoz in Nueva Ecija, 36 farmer-leaders representing about 6,000 members of farmer cooperatives and associations, received various kinds of farm machinery and equipment last June 4.

In a video message played during the event, Villar, chairperson of the Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform, congratulated the farmer-beneficiaries who are now equipped with the needed tools to help bring down their cost of producing palay and improve their competitiveness.

"Ito po ang ating programa para mapababa ang inyong production cost at mapalaki ang inyong ani nang sa ganoon lumaki ang kita sa pagsasaka," Villar said.

The farmer-beneficiaries received 31 four-wheel tractors, 13 rice combine harvesters and two riding-type mechanical transplanters. Villar noted that the farm machinery allotted for Nueva Ecija forms part of the total P5-B RCEF mechanization budget in 2019.

Under Republic Act 11203, P5 billion worth of agri-machinery will be distributed to 947 rice-producing towns in the Philippines at the rate of P5 million per town from year 2019 to 2024.

"Although we experienced some delay in the distribution of machinery, the other programs under RCEF were implemented last year and our farmers started to reap the benefits of the law through seed distribution, credit, and extension programs," Villar said.

Villar also urged PhilMech Executive Director Baldwin Jallorina to fast-track the distribution of the rest of the agri-machinery units to the other provinces under the 2019 budget.

"With the pandemic hitting the farming communities as hard as the other sectors in our country, these kinds of assistance should be prioritized to enable our farmers to quickly recover and continue to produce food for our people," Villar said.