TABUK CITY, KALINGA – The three rice seed growers’ cooperatives in this city are up in arms against the Department of Agriculture-Cordillera Administrative Region Field Unit (DA-CARFU) for the delay in the payment of P12M worth of rice certified seeds they delivered in December and January under the government’s seed subsidy program.
Members of the Kalinga Hybrid Rice Seed Growers’ Multi-purpose Cooperative (KHRSGMPC), the Tabuk Hybrid Rice Seed Growers’ Multi-purpose Cooperative (THRSGMPC) and the Sumyaan Organic Farmers’ Multi-purpose Cooperative (SOFMPC) could not understand why the DA-CARFU is taking too long to pay when the deliveries were under the seed subsidy program of the government.
“We are assuming that since there is a program, there is a fund. In reality, we are having a hard time collecting. The DA-CARFU Accounting Division is now saying that there is no cash,” said Jesse Rey Cuaresma, manager of the KHRSGMPC which still has to collect the payment for 5,013 bags amounting to P6M.
So far, the DA-CARFU has only paid the KHRSGMPC for the first purchase order dated March 6 P1.3M for 966 bags of rice certified seeds. It has also made initial payments to the other two cooperatives.
The cooperatives are wondering how come the payments are being made in installments when the procurement was done through the bidding process.
“Since it was done through bidding, there should only be one purchase order,” Cuaresma said adding that following up the POs cost money as the DA-CARFU is located in Baguio City.
A member of the SOFMPC who does not want to be identified is also angry that the DA-CARFU Accounting Division is saying it cannot as yet pay the deliveries because the documents for the distribution of the certified seeds to farmer beneficiaries by their LGUs are not in order. The cooperative still has to collect P2.4M from the DA.
“Why should we suffer for the mistakes or shortcomings of others? We have delivered our seeds and the delivery is duly acknowledged by the end users. We have already submitted the delivery receipt, the seed analysis and the bill of collection for the whole delivery and that should be enough for them to pay the whole amount,” the member said.
He added that if the DA-CARFU does not improve its system, the cooperative may choose to do business with Regions 1 and 2 in the coming seasons.
The major reason why the area for the growing of F1 or hybrid rice seed in the city has steadily gone down from 800 hectares in 2004 to a mere 130 hectares this cropping season is the delay in the payment of the seed deliveries which sometimes lasted as long as one year.
This did not happen while the funds for the F1 procurement program of the government was still in the hands of the Philrice. The procurement responsibility was transferred to the DA-CARFU in 2004.
THRSGMPC President Eusebio Orprecio agrees that it is much better to do business with the DA in Regions 1 and 2 than with the DA-CARFU saying that it only takes a month to collect from the two regional offices.
“We really cannot understand what’s the matter with DA-CARFU since the DA is using only one set of procurement guidelines,” Orprecio said.
Orprecio is also wondering how come at this point when the harvest is just around the corner, DA-CARFU still has not conducted seed matching sessions ”so we will know if they will buy our seeds or not.”
“DA Region 1 has already called me to go sign a MOA with them,” Orprecio informed. **By Estanislao Albano Jr., ZZW
Members of the Kalinga Hybrid Rice Seed Growers’ Multi-purpose Cooperative (KHRSGMPC), the Tabuk Hybrid Rice Seed Growers’ Multi-purpose Cooperative (THRSGMPC) and the Sumyaan Organic Farmers’ Multi-purpose Cooperative (SOFMPC) could not understand why the DA-CARFU is taking too long to pay when the deliveries were under the seed subsidy program of the government.
“We are assuming that since there is a program, there is a fund. In reality, we are having a hard time collecting. The DA-CARFU Accounting Division is now saying that there is no cash,” said Jesse Rey Cuaresma, manager of the KHRSGMPC which still has to collect the payment for 5,013 bags amounting to P6M.
So far, the DA-CARFU has only paid the KHRSGMPC for the first purchase order dated March 6 P1.3M for 966 bags of rice certified seeds. It has also made initial payments to the other two cooperatives.
The cooperatives are wondering how come the payments are being made in installments when the procurement was done through the bidding process.
“Since it was done through bidding, there should only be one purchase order,” Cuaresma said adding that following up the POs cost money as the DA-CARFU is located in Baguio City.
A member of the SOFMPC who does not want to be identified is also angry that the DA-CARFU Accounting Division is saying it cannot as yet pay the deliveries because the documents for the distribution of the certified seeds to farmer beneficiaries by their LGUs are not in order. The cooperative still has to collect P2.4M from the DA.
“Why should we suffer for the mistakes or shortcomings of others? We have delivered our seeds and the delivery is duly acknowledged by the end users. We have already submitted the delivery receipt, the seed analysis and the bill of collection for the whole delivery and that should be enough for them to pay the whole amount,” the member said.
He added that if the DA-CARFU does not improve its system, the cooperative may choose to do business with Regions 1 and 2 in the coming seasons.
The major reason why the area for the growing of F1 or hybrid rice seed in the city has steadily gone down from 800 hectares in 2004 to a mere 130 hectares this cropping season is the delay in the payment of the seed deliveries which sometimes lasted as long as one year.
This did not happen while the funds for the F1 procurement program of the government was still in the hands of the Philrice. The procurement responsibility was transferred to the DA-CARFU in 2004.
THRSGMPC President Eusebio Orprecio agrees that it is much better to do business with the DA in Regions 1 and 2 than with the DA-CARFU saying that it only takes a month to collect from the two regional offices.
“We really cannot understand what’s the matter with DA-CARFU since the DA is using only one set of procurement guidelines,” Orprecio said.
Orprecio is also wondering how come at this point when the harvest is just around the corner, DA-CARFU still has not conducted seed matching sessions ”so we will know if they will buy our seeds or not.”
“DA Region 1 has already called me to go sign a MOA with them,” Orprecio informed. **By Estanislao Albano Jr., ZZW
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