Antipas, North Cotabato. Around 500 farmers coming from different barangays of this town flocked at the covered court of Barangay Dolores on July 08 (Sunday) to welcome the Department of Agriculture led by Secretary Emmanuel Piñol.
Secretary Piñol brought his recent Biyaheng Bukid to this highland and interior municipality of North Cotabato saying that “this barangay is close to my heart.”
As the highlight of the event, Piñol distributed close to P700, 000 worth of agri-fishery interventions to the local government of Antipas, which included P181, 500 production inputs from the Rice Program; P436, 500 corn seeds from the Corn Program; P12,550 worth of planting materials courtesy of the High Value Crops Development Program; P30,000 worth of modules of sheep from the Livestock Program; and P35,000 worth of farm implements was granted by the Organic Agriculture Program.
Meanwhile, to address the poor road conditions in the area, Piñol vowed to include in the 2020 DA budget the concreting of 1.8-kilometer farm-to-market road that connects the villages of Dolores and Datu Selo. Initial allocation is put at P20 million.
“We (DA) may not be able to complete all FMRs within this year but I promise that it will all be finalized before my term ends,” Piñol said.
He also committed around P20-M available credit under the Production Loan Easy Access (PLEA) program for the municipality of Antipas.
At the sideline of the activity was the launching of the Barangay Food Terminal (BFT) cum Bigasan ng Bayan in Barangay Dolores. This BFT has a freezer, digital weighing scale, crates, and NFA rice worth P50,000. Valued at P450, 000, the project has a P70,000 fund allotment for building improvement, as well as trainings and seminars.
SAAD awards P117-K farm implements
The Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) program distributed more than P117, 000 worth of farm implements which included 25 knapsack sprayers; 25 water sprinklers; 24 rakes; and 72 lagaraos. (DA-RAFIS 12)
PR No. 02
DA-SAAD distributes P475-K goats to Sultan Kudarat province farmers
The Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) program of the Department of Agriculture visited the coastal towns of Lebak and Kalamansig to deliver 120 goats worth P475, 000.
DA 12 Regional Executive Director Milagros Casis led the delivery and turn-over of the intervention to these towns’ villages on July 4 and 5.
For municipality of Lebak, DA-SAAD team distributed 29 goats to Barangay Keytodac and 30 goats to Barangay Salansang.
On the other hand, the program awarded 30 goats to Barangay Paril and 31 goats to Barangay Sangay in Kalamansig.
Director Casis told the farmer-beneficiaries that the government is doing its best to reach the far-flung areas to make sure that each underserved Filipino will be provided with the support that they need for them to improve their living conditions.
“If you’re going to seriously manage and maximize this intervention that you received from the government, you will be able to uplift your life,” she stressed.
SAAD is one of the pet projects of Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol aimed at contributing to the attainment of the available and affordable food campaign of President Rodrigo Duterte.
Secretary Piñol has said that SAAD was cited by the Philippine Statistics Authority as one of the government programs that greatly contributes in the economic progress of the country. (DA-RAFIS 12)
