SENATOR Robinhood “Robin” Padilla pushed for a scholarship program for the farmers under the Rice Tariffication Act.

In Senate Bill 231, Padilla sought to increase the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund from P10 billion to P15 billion to boost the competitiveness of Filipino farmers.

“In addition to the proposed amendments, this representation proposes that 10 percent of the RCEF shall be made available for scholarship, health and other similar benefits for the rice fund beneficiaries,” he said in his bill.

The senator noted that there had been issues in the implementation of the law, including loopholes that allowed the entry of foreign rice in the country which forced farmers to lower the prices of their produce.

Padilla lamented that the P10-billion annual RCEF for farm mechanization, seed development, propagation and promotion, and credit assistance and extension services failed to bring down production costs for Filipino farmers.

Among the proposed amendments to the law include allowing the export of rice except during harvest season; increasing the RCEF from P10 billion to P15 billion a year for the next six years; allocating 20 percent of the Rice Fund for rice seed development, propagation and promotion; and allocating 10 percent of the Rice Fund for scholarship, health and other benefits for farmer beneficiaries.