DA gives seeds, fertilizers to 321 Bontoc farmers

BONTOC Mayor Jerome “Chagsen” Tudlong, Jr., leads turnover of fertilizer discount vouchers to registered farmers. The Dept. of Agriculture –Cordillera Administrative Region granted request of Bontoc local government through the Office of the Municipal Agriculturist for free urea fertilizers to farmers. -- Jovi T. Lopez

By Alpine L. Killa-Malwagay

BONTOC, Mountain Province – Some 321 registered farmers in this capital town recently received fertilizer discount vouchers from the Dept. of Agriculture-Cordillera Administrative Region in partnership with the Bontoc local government.
    According to Municipal Government Assistant Department head Catherine Agcon of the Office of the Municipal Agriculturist, a total of 105.5 bags of urea fertilizers have been given to the beneficiaries from Barangays Alab Oriente, Alab Proper, Balili, and Gonogon who have been planting palay certified seeds. 
    She added this was a follow-up intervention of the DA under its rice program as recipients have been earlier provided with bags of palay-certified seeds.  
    Agcon said farmers who availed of the program are registered in the Registry of Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) and bags of inbred seeds and fertilizer discount vouchers that they receive depend on the area of their rice fields that they have registered.
    She urged farmers and fisher folks to enroll in the RSBSA for them to avail of help from the DA.
Agcon added the registration is free and interested farmers may visit the OMAg located on the 4th Floor, Bontoc Municipal Capitol for inquiries.
    Bontoc Mayor Jerome “Chagsen” Tudlong, Jr., thanked the DA for its assistance to farmers in the locality. 
“Farming is the main source of living for the people in Bontoc and we are grateful to the national government through the DA- CAR for their continuing assistance to the farmers. With the increasing prices of commodities; seeds, fertilizers, and other farm inputs are no exception. Thus, the free bags of inbred seeds and urea fertilizers are of great help to the farmers, “Tudlong said.

The mayor said ensuring rice sufficiency while uplifting lives of farmers was one of his flagship programs to boost the economy.

He told recipients the Bontoc LGU will coordinate with national government, particularly the DA, for continued support to the marginalized farmers.

Meanwhile, to ensure sustainability of the program, the OMAg in partnership with the provincial government of Mountain Province through the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist shall conduct monitoring of recipients.