Cash aid available to rice farmers starting Dec. 23: agri chief

MANILA - Rice farmers hit by the drop in prices of the staple grain may avail of P5,000 cash aid from government starting Dec. 23, Agriculture Secretary William Dar said Tuesday.

• Gov't readies cash aid for rice farmers hit by low prices

Some 600,000 farmers from 33 provinces who till half a hectare up to 2 hectares of land will receive cash assistance sourced from rice import tariffs, Dar said.

Rice prices fell after the government replaced import quotas with tariffs to bring down the price of the staple and tame inflation from record highs in late 2018.

Nueva Ecija and Pangasinan were among provinces affected by the price drop, Dar said. The agriculture department has yet to release a full list of beneficiaries.