Through the Fertilizer Discount Voucher scheme, the DA National Rice Program hopes to help farmers reduce the cost of production amid the rising prices of inorganic fertilizer. (photo by DA)
DILIMAN, Quezon City—A total of 997,000 rice farmers nationwide received Fertilizer Discount Vouchers from the Department of Agriculture (DA) in 2021, a representative of the agency said in a radio interview last June 18.
Ralph Alan Ceniza, a senior agriculturist at the DA-National Rice Program, said that the vouchers are used by the beneficiaries to purchase inorganic and organic fertilizers from accredited merchants.
“The voucher [distribution] started in 2021, but the DA was already providing fertilizer support in 2020. At that time, the support was given in kind, but we had some challenges in terms of the logistics and with the uncertainty in fertilizer prices. The Department looked for ways so that the delivery of services to the farmers will not be hampered,” he said.
According to Ceniza, the Fertilizer Discount Voucher are given to rice farmers who are included in the Registry System for Basics Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) and who received seeds from the DA and used these seeds for the current planting season. Eligible beneficiaries are also those located in the priority provinces of the program.
Ceniza reminded the farmers that they can go to their municipal or city agriculture office to sign up for the RSBSA. Meanwhile, the priority areas for this program are as follows:
Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) areas
Agusan del Norte Lanao del Norte
Agusan del Sur Lanao del Sur
Aklan Maguindanao
Albay Masbate
Antique Misamis Occidental
Aurora Misamis Oriental
Bataan Negros Occidental
Biliran Negros Oriental
Bohol Nueva Vizcaya
Bulacan Pampanga
Capiz Quezon
Cavite Quirino
Davao City Samar
Davao de Oro Sarangani
Davao del Norte Sorsogon
Davao del Sur South Cotabato
Davao Oriental Southern Leyte
Ifugao Surigao del Sur
Ilocos Sur Zambales
Kalinga Zamboanga del Sur
La Union Zamboanga Sibugay
Laguna
Non-RCEF areas
Abra Eastern Samar
Apayao Guimaras
Baguio City Isabela City
Basilan Marinduque
Batanes Mountain Province
Batangas Northern Samar
Benguet Rizal
Butuan City Romblon
Camarines Norte Siquijor
Camiguin Sulu
Catanduanes Surigao del Norte
Cebu Tawi-tawi
Davao Occidental Zamboanga City
Dinagat Islands Zamboanga del Norte
Hybrid Rice areas
Bukidnon Nueva Ecija
Cagayan Occidental Mindoro
Camarines Sur Oriental Mindoro
Ilocos Norte Palawan
Iloilo Pangasinan
Isabela Sultan Kudarat
Leyte Tarlac
North Cotabato
Under the voucher scheme, farmers may receive Php1,131 per hectare for inbred seeds and Php2,262 per hectare for the hybrid variety.
Ceniza stressed that these vouchers are for single purchase only and can be claimed personally at any accredited store provided that they bring a proof of identity.
Inorganic fertilizers that can be claimed using the vouchers are complete fertilizer, urea, ammonium sulphate, ammonium phosphate, muriate of potash, among others. Meanwhile, as the prices of inorganic fertilizers continue to increase, the DA has also allowed the purchase of organic fertilizer, foliar fertilizer, biological fertilizer, and biological stimulants through the vouchers.
Ceniza talked more about this effort with DZRH reporter Karen Ow-yong on the Agricultural Training Institute’s (ATI) teleradyo program, “Agri Asenso”. The full interview can be streamed on the ATI's Facebook page at https://rb.gy/dktzly.
