DA releases P377-M to Cordillera farmers

By Liza Agoot  

BAGUIO CITY – The Dept. of Agriculture in the Cordillera Administrative Region (DA-CAR) has released P377.7 million in assistance to farmers in the region amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
    The assistance came in the form of loans, grants, and farm inputs.
    Dr. Cameron Odsey, regional director of the DA-CAR, in a telephone interview on Tuesday, said P224.4 million for loans was released to flower and vegetable farmers and fisherfolk under the Expanded survival and recovery (E-SURE) aid; P80.8 million under the Rice Farmers Financial Assistance program (RFFAP); and P72.5 million under the Rice Resiliency Project (RRP).
    The P25,000 soft loan assistance to individual farmers under the E-SURE is payable in 10 years without interest to help finance the emergency and production capital requirements and working capital of the farmers.
    Because it is a loan, the farmers will only have to allocate P6.84 per day or P205.20 a month in 10 years to pay the amount.
    As of Sept. 11, a total of 8,924 farmers in the six provinces of the region benefited from the government’s loan assistance program.
    Odsey said Benguet farmers got the bulk at P150 million or about 60 percent of the P224.4 million allotted to the Cordillera under the E-SURE aid.
    The remaining amount was shared by the other provinces.
    Odsey said most beneficiaries in Benguet were flower growers who lost a lot starting from the cancellation of mass gathering activities nationwide due to the pandemic.
    The Baguio Flower Festival and Valentine events were also cancelled, which contributed to their losses.
    The director said that most regions in the country were allotted P65 million but the Cordillera was given a big amount as an immediate response to reports and complaints aired by farmers and the drop in prices of high-value crops.
    Odsey added that the DA also assisted rice farmers in Kalinga, Apayao, and Ifugao.
    Each of the 16,160 beneficiaries received P5,000 under the RFFAP.
    The beneficiaries under the program are rice farmers tilling an area between 5,000 square meters to two hectares.
    Under the department’s RRP, some P72.5 million was released to 34,375 farmers in the six provinces of the region in the form of hybrid and inbred seeds.
    About 1,432 farmers also received fertilizer components and other farm inputs.
    Odsey said that the DA is requesting an amount from the Bayanihan II to be able to continue providing support to more farmers and fisherfolk nationwide.
    Aside from giving financial and logistic support, the DA is also aiding farmers in the marketing of their produce if only to assure that their products do not just rot without being sold.
    Aida Pagtan, chief of the DA-CAR Public Information Office, said the “Kadiwa ni Ani at Kita” program was mobilized as a marketing strategy where the producer (farmer) was linked directly to the consumer especially those in the urban areas like Metro Manila. The Kadiwa was categorized into “express” “on wheels”, and “retail”.
    Under the “Kadiwa Express”, the assistance was extended to farmer groups or individuals by linking them directly to buyers and providing transport assistance by hauling their produce from their identified consolidation area to the partner buyer delivery location.
    The project was able to assist 3,991 farmers mostly from the vegetable growing areas of Benguet, Bauko in Mt. Province and Tinoc in Ifugao. A total sales of 837.37 metric tons of assorted vegetables with a total market value of P22,474,562 was realized under this program.
    “Kadiwa on wheels” is a partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry and the local governments of Baguio and Benguet which is added in the “Rolling store” program of the DTI. Seven farmer groups were able to sell 2.7 tons of vegetables generating gross sales of P958,860.
    “Kadiwa Retail” is a store within the DA compound in Guisad, Baguio City where farmers bring their products for the public to buy. A total of 19,093 kilograms of agricultural products worth P1,445,738 were sold.
    Pagtan said the DA immediately responded to farmers woes from the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
    “The government continues to provide help to our people. The government is doing everything it can to ease the suffering of our people especially the farmers who are the ones producing food for our tables),” Pagtan said. -- PNA