Philippines gives rice farmers $306m in aid amid El Nino
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Rice farmers tilling below 2ha of land will receive 5,000 pesos (S$121) each, President Ferdinand Marcos’ communications office said.
PHOTO: AFP
MANILA – The Philippines said it will provide 12.7 billion pesos (S$306 million) in financial assistance to about 2.3 million rice farmers to help them cope with the El Nino weather phenomenon and higher production costs.
Rice farmers tilling below 2ha of land will receive 5,000 pesos each, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s communications office said in a statement. The fund will be sourced from the excess tariff collection from rice imports in 2022, it said.
Separately, another 700 million pesos, also from rice tariffs, has been allocated for distribution to 78,000 farmers who are under the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s cash subsidy programme, Mr Marcos’ office said.
Sharply higher rice prices fanned inflation in the Philippines in August, prompting Mr Marcos to cap prices of the staple grain and provide cash aid to rice retailers and small-store owners affected by the cap. Rice makes up around 9 per cent of the South-east Asian nation’s consumer basket. Bloomberg
