273,994 Cordilleran farmers, fisherfolks signed up for PH agri registry system

Tabuk City, Kalinga – Some 273,994 farmers and fisherfolk in the Cordillera region are now eligible to avail themselves of various government agricultural programs and services following their successful registration with the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA).

The registration is mandated by the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act and the Rice Tariffication Law to the Department of Agriculture.

If registered in the system, farmers, farm laborers, fisherfolk, and agri-youth Filipino citizens can avail of government programs spanning agricultural loans, crops and livestock insurance, the provision of seeds, fertilizers, farm inputs, technical assistance, soil analysis, and the issuance of livestock and poultry travel certification.

In a press release on Friday, February 16, the Department of Agriculture-Cordillera said the number of persons enrolled is 94 percent of the target individuals of the agency. The agency’s target population is 290,195 individuals.

Benguet listed the highest number of registrants with 71,552, followed by Ifugao with 46,640, and Mountain Province with 51,189 people enrolled.

 For Kalinga, which took the fourth spot, their registrants are 37,713. It is followed by Abra with 44,398 and Apayao with 22,502 enrollees.

“The said number of registrants will be part of the national targeting mechanism for the identification of beneficiaries for different agriculture-related programs and services of the government,” DA-Cordillera wrote.

While the eligibility of those registered in the system is assured when getting agricultural programs and services, it does not guarantee that they could automatically qualify to receive assistance from the government.

The agricultural department and other attached agencies will still set other requirements and qualifications for recipients.