Cut flower growers urged: Avail of DA loan assistance

FLOWERS adorn the La Trinidad municipal garden before the Covid-19 lockdown. The demand on cut flowers such as roses, mums, and anthuriums is down  due to the enhanced community quarantine which prohibits mass gatherings. ( SCA-PIA-CAR, Benguet)

By Susan C. Aro

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet - - The Office of the Municipal Agriculturist urged cut flower growers to catch up with the April 20 deadline of  the Department of Agriculture’s financial assistance program to farmers affected by the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).

In the Municipal Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) meeting held April 13, OMAG head Felicitas Ticbaen said DA the thru the Survival and Recovery Assistance or SURE Program under the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) offers to small farmers a loan of   up to Php25, 000.00 with zero interest rate to help them cope up with the situation and regain their capacity to earn a living. This does not require any collateral and is payable in three years or more depending on the borrower’s capacity to pay.

Interested farmers can request application form from their respective barangays. Deadline of application is on April 20, 2020.

Since the imposition of the ECQ that prohibits mass gatherings such as weddings and special occasions where cut flowers are normally used, cut flower marketing was affected.

Based on the records of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist, La Trinidad is the biggest producer of cut flowers in the province. From January to March this year, the town’s cut flower growers   produced a total of 8.45 million dozens of chrysanthemums, roses, anthuriums, statice, and aster.

The OMAG records registered a total of 3,630 cut flower farmers scattered in the town’s 15 of the 16 barangays. The varieties of cut flowers are tilled in irrigated or rain-fed areas with a total aggregate of 1,068.76 hectares

Ticbaen said the barangay local governments were advised earlier to come up with their master list of affected farmers who are registered in the Registry System for Basic Services in Agriculture. The RSBSA enlistment is one of the requirements to qualify in applying for the loan grant, said Ticbaen.

Other requirements are photo documentation of damaged crop, endorsement from the barangay captain indicating that the farmer incurred damages and losses due to the impact of the ECQ and photo copy or number of the lot’s tax declaration.

For those that qualify, ACPC personnel will bring the loan grant to the recipient to ensure social distancing, Ticbaen said.

To further help  flower growers, Ticbaen suggested the creation of an online marketing scheme with the posting of corresponding prices of flower varieties linked to the account of the Municipal Mayor’s Office. A delivery system will also be adopted where buyers could claim and pay their orders, she added. (JDP/SCA-PIA-CAR, Benguet)