President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday led the distribution of fertilizers and fuel subsidy cards to farmers in the province of La Union to help them boost production of priority commodities. 

“We are here to ensure that all the assistance we provide to beneficiaries reaches all victims,” Marcos said.

“Here at the Department of Agriculture, we provide fuel assistance cards and also fertilizer. We also provide a card that is like an ID that [will be given by] the DA [for] assistance, cash assistance, fertilizer, even seeds so that if the crop is damaged, we have a replacement,” he added.

Growers from three San Fernando City, Bacnota, and San Juan were given inorganic fertilizers valued at P2.97 million, under the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) Rice Banner Program.

The DA allocated P20,051,200 for fertilizers covering 14,215 hectares. For the entire Ilocos region, P272.98 million were allocated which can cover 193,526 hectares.

For the fuel subsidy, close to 300 farmers received their fuel assistance cards containing P3,000. The DA said this came from the Assistance to Farmers Project.

These will enable farmers to use their owned or rented agricultural machinery for crop, livestock and poultry production.

In addition, the Fuel Assistance to Farmers Project also listed them in the Registry System for Basic Sector in Agriculture (RSBSA) for easier distribution of subsidy.

The government aid seeks to help cushion the impact of oil prices in the farming sector.

The DA is implementing the project in partnership with the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and its accredited financial technology partners.

It also allocated P43.33 million for the Ilocos Region assisting 13,756 farmer-beneficiaries.