“I will return to help you prepare your province’s master plan for agriculture development.”

This was the commitment made by Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Manny F. Piñol’s during his first visit to the Province of Abra on May 23, 2019.

On July 2019, the DA technical team and the Abra provincial local government unit (PLGU) will convene the province’s local chief executives, agricultural technologists, agricultural officers, farmer-leaders, women’s groups, and other stakeholders to map out needed project interventions and draft the province’s master plan for agriculture.

“We will help you plan the future of Abra,” Secretary Piñol said.

Abra Representative JB Bernos told the agri chief that the province is yet to maximize its vast agricultural lands. He expressed his gratitude to the secretary who has fulfilled his commitment in 2016 that he will visit the province.

During the Biyaheng Bukid, Piñol gifted the Abrenian farmers with two rice combine harvesters, five hand tractors, and one rice transplanter. He suggested that shared service facilities may be established for the proper management of the new equipment.

Piñol also requested Abra Governor Jocelyn Valera-Bernos to provide counterpart funding for other needed agricultural projects in the province.

To help the local farmers with their financial needs, the agri chief directed the Agricultural Credit Policy Council to identify a bank lending conduit in Abra. He also committed a P20 million-worth of loan funding especially for the Abrenian rice farmers. ### (Gumamela Celes Bejarin, DA-AFID)