DA Chief-of-Staff Ferdinand Piñol and Region 12 Director Milagros Casis lead the opening of valve of the diversion dam in Barangay Popoyon in Tulunan, North Cotabato. (Photo by Alan Jay Jacalan, DA-AFID)

The Department of Agriculture (DA) opened a P27-million (M) worth of newly constructed diversion dam in Barangay Popoyon in Tulunan, North Cotabato on September 16, 2018.

DA-12 Regional Director Milagros Casis together with Chief-of-Staff Ferdinand Piñol and other DA-12 officials, local government units of Tulunan, turned over the diversion dam and other agri projects valued at P31.11 million (M) to farmers and fisherfolk of Tulunan and other nearby municipalities.

The P31-M assistance composed of diversion dam (P27.05-M), 1 seed spreader (P63,555), multi-purpose drying pavement (P283,934), and 1 recirculating dryer (P3-M) under the Rice Program; 100 bags of corn seeds (P4,635) and 1 unit of hermetic storage bag (P182,000) under the Corn Program; and 250 pieces of fruit seedlings of durian, rambutan, lanzones, guapple and guyabano (P12,500), and 2 units of knapsack sprayer (P3,500) under the High Value Crops Development Program.

In addition, DA-12 will allot P75-M for the construction of various farm-to-market roads in Tulunan for 2019. This includes Kanibong (P20-M) Daig-Paraiso (P20-M), Popoyon (P20-M), and Baynosa (P15-M). ### (Kristel Merle, DA-AFID)