The Department of Agriculture distributed financial aid to the farmers of Bulalacao, Oriental Mindoro, the first town in the to country to declare state of calamity due to the impacts of the El Niño phenomenon.

The DA Regional Field Office in Mimaropa reported Thursday that around 927 farmers from the hard-hit town received cash assistance from the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF)—Rice Farmers Financial Assistance (RFFA) Program.

Meanwhile, 215 farmers in the municipality of Mansalay are set to receive cash aid on Friday,

According to DA, citing reports from the RFFA, about 2,559 farmers from the municipality in the second district of Oriental Mindoro will receive cash aid under the Program, which will distribute over P13,178,850.00 cash assistance.

Farmers in the first district, on the other hand, will receive financial assistance on 9 to 10 March at the Bagong Pilipinas Service Fair.

Under the RCEF, those eligible for the RFFA Program are rice farmers who are registered in the Registry Systems for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) and have arable land of two hectares or less. The RSBSA aims to provide the agency with a systematic way of directly reaching and supporting its beneficiary farmers and fishers and to serve as a reference for the targeting and monitoring of programs, activities, and projects of the Department.

The cash aid distribution was led by the DA Mimaropa Rice Program through Oriental Mindoro Provincial Coordinator Maria Teresa Carido. Among those also present in the ceremony are 2nd District Congressman Alfonso Umali Jr., Bulalacao Mayor Ernilo Villas, and Municipal Agriculturist Rommel de Guzman.