CEBU CITY– More than 12,000 fisherfolk from Central Visayas have received assistance from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in Central Visayas (BFAR-7) through the Cash and Food Subsidy for Marginal Farmers and Fisherfolk (CFSMFF) program.
Central Visayas has a total of 12,555 selected CFSMFF beneficiaries.
At least 11,588 fisherfolk from the four provinces of Bohol, Cebu, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor received PHP3,000 cash and PHP2,000 worth of food items comprising of raw chicken, eggs, and rice.
The last batch or the remaining 967 beneficiaries were given the PHP5,000 in cash to fast-track the distribution due to encountered problems in the delivery of food items and scarcity of supply.
The agency tapped a money transfer service provider in giving out the financial assistance while the food items were delivered to the villages or areas near to the recipients.
In a statement on Saturday, BFAR-7 Director Dr. Allan Poquita said the series of distributions were facilitated by BFAR’s provincial fishery offices in coordination with the concerned local government units.
The assistance was separately distributed to 4,501 fisherfolk from Cebu province; 4,190 from Bohol; 3,322 from Negros Oriental; and 542 from Siquijor.
The recipients were chosen based on certain criteria: should be a registered fisherfolk from the region, he or she did not receive cash grant or the social amelioration package from other government entities, he or she is neither a member of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program nor a government employee, and he or she was among the sectors severely affected by the coronavirus crisis.
The CFSMFF program aims to provide compensation to farmers and fisherfolk, whose incomes were reduced or lost during the pandemic.
The program, including its funding, is supported through Republic Act No. 11494 or the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act or mostly known as the Bayanihan II.
The CFSMFF is one of the two cash assistance programs implemented by BFAR, an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture, that caters not only to fisherfolk but also to corn, coconut, sugarcane farmers, and indigenous peoples' group.
The other program is the Rice Farmer Financial Assistance and Financial Subsidy for rice farmers. (PNA)
