MANILA - The Department of Agriculture (DA) said the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) has resulted in increased local production and yield, affordable and stable supply of rice, and more benefits for farmers.

In response to critics, DA spokesperson Noel Reyes shared in a Viber message on Monday that starting this month, more than 1.6 million Filipino rice farmers tilling a land area measuring two hectares or less will have a share from the PHP7.6 billion excess tariff collected from rice imports the past two years, as indicated in the RTL.

The cash aid will be released through the Intervention Monitoring Card, which will serve as farmer's identification and cash card.

"Marami man pong kumondena, dahil po sa taripa mula sa imported rice, kumikita ng pera ang gobyerno na ngayon nga ay ipapamahagi (Despite criticism, it must be known that because of the tariff on imported rice, the government earned money for distribution to farmers)," Reyes said.

Recently, Secretary William Dar highlighted the accomplishment of RTL under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), including the reduced seeding rate requirement of rice farmers by about 35 percent.

"With the seed support under RCEF, farmers have reduced seed requirement from 96 kilograms (kg) per hectare (ha) to only 64 kg per ha," Dar said in a statement.

There was also an increase of about 0.56 metric tons per hectare for dry season cropping for 2019-2020 and 2020-2021.

With an average yield increment of 560 kg/ha, RCEF farmers earned an additional gross income of at least P10,000/ha at P19/kg of dry palay.

Dar added that RCEF allowed the distribution of 1.822 million bags (20kg/bag) of inbred seeds.

President Rodrigo Duterte signed the RTL (Republic Act No. 11203), which replaces rice import quantitative restrictions with tariffs, on Feb. 14, 2019.

"When the government began its campaign to reform the rice sector, the goal was to improve food security for all and give rice farmers better support," Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua previously said.

"We want to ensure that all Filipinos will be able to afford rice, especially the poor who spend as much as 30 percent of their food budget on rice, and to ensure rice farmers have better means to improve productivity through better seeds and equipment," he added.

Studies by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), International Rice Research Institute, and International Food Policy Research Institute indicated the law is expected to accelerate agricultural growth and facilitate the structural transformation of the economy with gross domestic product increasing by at least 0.13 percent compared to the baseline in 2025.

"More importantly, it was estimated that the RTL, by 2025, would reduce the proportion of malnourished children and population at risk of hunger in the country by 2.8 percent and 15.4 percent, respectively. This is equivalent to around 2.1 million less people at risk of hunger and malnutrition," NEDA stated. (PNA)