A total of 17, 769 farmers from the province of La Union already received their P5,000 cash assistance under the Financial Subsidy for Rice Farmers (FSRF) program of the Department of Agriculture (DA) through the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) as of May 30, 2020.

In a series of distribution activity conducted in the province by DA-RFO I and LBP staffs since the second week of May, a total amount of P88,845,000.00 or 48% has been claimed by farmer-beneficiaries.The province of La Union has a total FSRF allocation of P183,955,000 for its 36,791 farmer-beneficiaries.

Department of Agriculture – Regional Field Office I (DA-RFO I) Regional Executive Director Lucrecio R. Alviar Jr. mobilized all its Field Operations staff to assist the Land Bank of the Philippines in the distribution activity to ensure that all listed beneficiaries will be able to claim their cash assistance at a set schedule for each municipality.

Meanwhile, of the 149, 449 regional target beneficiaries, Pangasinan has 31,026 farmer-beneficiaries with 6,658 already distributed; 49,343 for Ilocos Sur with 25,732 total distribution; and 32,289 for Ilocos Norte with 11,089 total distribution.

The FSRF is a cash assistance program of DA given to farmers to financially assist them during the COVID-19 pandemic. All farmers who are enrolled in the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) and are tilling an area of 1 hectare below are eligible to receive the said cash assistance. The distribution activity for the entire region is still on-going.###