To further aid Filipino farmers in boosting their revenues and livelihoods, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said it would be distributing in the next months the excess from rice tariff collection last year, amounting to P20 billion.

“We will give P12 billion as cash, P1 billion for the land titling of the DAR [Department of Agrarian Reform] to the farmers, and P7 billion will be for crop diversification to high-value crops,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said Tuesday at a media forum organized by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Taguig City.

He said that the DA will target rolling out the P12 billion in cash assistance by September.

Last year, state tariff collections from rice imports reached P30 billion.

Under the Rice Tarrification Law enacted in 2019, a P10 billion annual appropriation for the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) is allocated, which will be directly distributed as an aid to local farmers: P5 billion for mechanization,  P3 billion for inbred seeds, P1 billion for loans, and P1 billion for training.

The National Economic and Development Authority earlier slashed tariffs on imported rice from 35 percent to 15 percent for both in-quota and out-quota rates, effective until 2028.

Despite this, NEDA is optimistic about gaining substantial import fees for the RCEF.

“The remaining tariff is still quite substantial; that's still fifteen percent. So whatever the imports, if those imports are coming in at still elevated high prices, it's still quite substantial tariff revenue for the RCEF,” NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said.