DA exec vows faster spending of ₧15-B RCEF fund this year

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) has only disbursed 8.35 percent, or about P1.252 billion, of its P15-billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), which includes a P5 billion carryover from last year, this year, based on its latest presentation.

Nonetheless, the DA vowed that the whole amount would be utilized this year with rice farmers reaping benefits from the second year of the rice trade liberalization (RTL) law-created RCEF.

During Thursday’s news briefing, the DA presentation showed that it has obligated P5.618 billion, or about out 37.45 percent, of the P15-billion RCEF fund this year.

RCEF is a six-year P10-billion rice production development program created under the RTL law, or Republic Act 11203, which deregulated the rice industry. The law mandates that P5 billion would be allocated for farm mechanization, P3 billion for inbred seed distribution, P1 billion for credit and P1 billion for extension.

However, the DA had a P5 billion carryover this year since the amount, which was dedicated for farm mechanization, was untouched last year due to procurement problems.

“This whole P15 billion would be used this year, especially that Philmech [Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization] has lined up everything for the procurement of machinery,” Da-field Operations Service Director Roy M. Abaya said during the briefing.

“There’s a huge hope that we will be able to deliver this P10 billion worth of machinery this year,” Abaya, who also heads the secretariat of the RCEF Program Steering Committee (PSC), added.

Breakdown

BASED on the DA’S presentation, P1.607 billion out of the P10-billion RCEF farm mechanization component this year has been obligated by Philmech with zero disbursements so far.

The Philippine Rice Research Institute (Philrice) has obligated P2.789 billion out of its P3-billion RCEF seed component fund this year. The Philrice has disbursed about P1.15 billion of the budget, according to the DA’S presentation.

The presentation also showed that P550.83 million out of the P1billion budget for extension this year has been obligated. About P385.528 million of the obligated fund has been disbursed.

As for the credit component of RCEF, about P670.88 million out of the P1-billion budget this year has been obligated by the Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank) and Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), the mandated implementers of the program.

DA presentation showed that Landbank has obligated P453.88 million out of its P500 million allocation while DBP was able to obligate P217 million out of its P500million fund.

Furthermore, Landbank has been able to disburse P102.71 million of its obligated funds for the year while DBP has yet to disburse an amount, DA presentation showed.