A total of P635,617,356 worth of Fertilizer Discount Vouchers (FDV) can be availed through the Department of Agriculture (DA) by eligible rice farmers in Western Visayas who planted palay this 2022-2023 dry cropping season.
After the DA generated all vouchers on January 30, farmers began receiving FDVs on February 1, which they could use to purchase urea from 165 agency-accredited fertilizer merchants throughout the region.
According to DA OIC Chief Field Operations Division and Rice Program Focal Person Ester Ruth Torreverde, the dry planting season runs from September 16 up to March 16, thus, qualified farmers must claim their urea fertilizer from accredited merchants until March 15 as they can no longer use the vouchers beyond the said date.
Farmers shall bring their printed fertilizer discount voucher and proof of identification (ID) when claiming their urea fertilizer.
Torreverde cited that the DA has extended fertilizer support to farmers through the voucher system starting with last year’s wet season.
Further, she said that compared to the 2022 first cropping season, qualified rice farmers can now receive P6,600 per hectare FDV regardless of whether they planted inbred or hybrid seeds.
However, she added that a farmer-beneficiary can only receive a maximum of P13,200 worth of discount voucher to cover two hectares of rice land.
Farmer-beneficiaries are advised not to convert their FDVs into cash as the DA will sanction fertilizer dealers who violated the rule, while farmers who commit the offense will be barred from receiving further assistance from the Department.
Meanwhile, the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA), which is in-charge of issuing licenses to fertilizer dealers, will conduct regional monitoring to ensure the fertilizer quality claimed by farmer-beneficiaries.
The DA’s FDV support program ultimately targets to attain 4.22 metric tons per hectare average yield this year.
The budget for the said allocation comes from the General Appropriations Act of 2022, covering a total area of 125,000 hectares in the region.
Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA)-listed farmers in Iloilo have P252 million FDV share, Negros Occidental with P141 million, P118 million for Capiz, Antique with P67.77 million, and Aklan with P56 million allocation.
The DA collaborated with the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) to streamline payment processing for accredited fertilizer dealers participating in the FDV support program.JBG/AGP/ PIA 6 with report from DA-RAFIS 6
