Bill seeks to extend life of rice tariff funds

A representative of the country’s top rice producing province has begun the process to extend the life of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) for another six years amid the RCEF’s scheduled expiration in 2025 under Republic Act No. 11203, or the rice tariffication law, enacted in 2019.

Rep. Rosanna Vergara of Nueva Ecija, considered the country’s rice granary, filed House Bill No. 9547 to specifically amend RA 11203’s provision setting the end of the RCEF six years after enactment, or until 2025.

According to Vergara, “The rice tariffication law has deregulated rice imports and replaced the system of quantitative restrictions. Alongside, tariffication is the establishment of the RCEF, which is funded out of the rice tariff revenues for six years for the benefit of rice farmers. At the end of the sixth year, a mandatory review shall be conducted to determine if there is a need to continue, amend or terminate the RCEF.”

The RCEF, she noted, guarantees an annual P10-billion appropriation for six years to be distributed to rice-producing areas, where P5 billion, or 50 percent, is allocated for rice farm machinery and equipment; P3 billion, or 30 percent, for rice seed development, propagation and promotion; P1 billion or 10 percent for credit assistance; and the remaining P1 billion or 10 percent for rice extension services.

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“The tariffs collected from rice imports are reinvested back into the local rice industry through the annual P10-billion RCEF,” Vergara pointed out, adding that “the fund earmarks resources for the modernization of the agriculture sector and provides farmers with greater direct access to credit, high-quality seeds, agriculture machinery, and skills training on modern farming technologies.” INQ