A total of 1,100 farmers from Santa Josefa, Agusan del Sur, and Butuan City have received their fuel discount cards during distribution activities conducted by the Department of Agriculture in the Caraga Region (DA-13) on Aug. 13 and 14.
In its report on Friday, the agency said approximately PHP3.3 million in fuel subsidies were released to the beneficiaries, with each farmer receiving PHP3,000.
“The program aims to alleviate our farmers from financial burden amidst the rising cost of fuel,” the DA-13 said.
On Thursday, some 600 farmers from Santa Josefa received their fuel subsidy cards, which they can use to procure fuel for their farm machinery and equipment. In Butuan City, 500 farmers also benefited from the program through a distribution activity on Wednesday.
Jhoncell Perida, a farmer from Santa Josefa, was among those who received his discount card on Thursday.
“This will help reduce our expenses in our farms, especially on fuel cost, since I am already using farm machinery in my rice field,” he said. He added that the PHP3,000 subsidy is enough to buy 32 liters of gasoline for his floating tiller during land preparations for his farm.
The DA-13 said more fuel card discount vouchers are set to be released to farmers across the region in the coming weeks. (PNA)