In response to the needs of the farmers and fishers badly affected by typhoon Vinta at the tail end of the year 2017, the Department of Agriculture awarded to the province of Lanao del Norte P7.099-million (M) worth of rice, corn and vegetable seeds, on January 4, 2018 in the municipality of Lala.
Agriculture Secretary, during his first Biyaheng Bukid for the year, flew to the province to meet farmers and fishers, and personally hand to them the assistance of the Duterte administration to enable them to recover from the losses they incurred due to the typhoons.
Aside from the farm inputs, the DA chief also led the distribution of and P5,000-financial assistance under the Survival and Recovery (SURE) Assistance Program from the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) to fifty farmer-beneficiaries.
“These are just part of the P10-M SURE funds allotted for this province,” Piñol said.
Apart from this, Piñol has committed P50-M for the province of Lanao del Norte under the Production Loan Easy Access (PLEA).
“You can avail to as high as P20,000-loan from PLEA at 6% interest with no collateral,” he announced.
“You just need to enroll under the Juan Magsasaka Program and secure an ID to be presented to us, that’s our only condition.”
“And of course, you have to pay your dues,” he added.
In line with this, the agri chief boasted of the success of the same lending facility availed by the vegetable farmers of the Cordillera Administrative Region who collectively achieved 100% loan repayment record.
“This is a good story to emulate. Pay your loans so that others will have a chance to use it,” he said.
In addition to the financial loans, DA has kicked-off a farm equipment loan to empower farmers from pre-production, production, post-production and marketing. Under the scheme, farmer organizations may avail of as much as P50-M for the purchase of various farm machineries including tractors, harvesters, threshers, and even corn silo.
“We will optimize your potentials and assist you from planting to marketing, so you can enjoy your profits and earn fairly what is due to you,” he said. ### (odarodriguez/DA-AFID)
