THE Department of Finance (DOF) said the government earned a total of P46.6 billion in taxes coming from imported rice in three years that the Rice Tariffication Law was implemented.
DOF Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said that palay farmers directly benefited from earnings generated by the government through a P10-billion annual fund for programs directed at rice farmers such as use of farming equipment, quality seeds, financing and training.
The P100-billion fund allotted for palay farmers yearly is allocated for the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) that will last until year 2024.
According to Dominguez, this law is an opportunity to extensively change the agriculture sector and help farmers to become more competitive in a global economy.
Data from the Department of Agriculture showed that after the RCEF was implemented, more than 1 million palay farmers in the country were able to receive more than 8.6 million bags of certified rice which is proven to boost harvest volume compared to traditional home-saved seeds.
This resulted to more than 830,000 hectares of palay farms in the country yielding better harvest than before.