The Department of Agriculture (DA) distributed over P168 million (M) worth of post-harvest facilities to farmers’ cooperatives of the Soccsksargen region on June 18, 2018 at the DA Research and Experiment Station in Tupi, South Cotabato.

Agriculture Secretary Manny F. Piñol, together with DA-12 Regional Executive Director Milagros C. Casis, led the turn-over ceremony attended by more than 500 farmers’ and fisherfolk, and local executives from the provinces of South Cotabato, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, and General Santos.

The DA regional office awarded P112M and P15.5M-worth of assistance for rice and corn farmers, respectively. Another P3.2M-worth of interventions were distributed to livestock raisers, while high value crop growers received P5.9 M in production assistance. More than P18.4M were allotted for the implementation BUB and PAMANA projects. During the event, the Livestock Program of the DA Central Office also awarded P12M to the local government of Cotabato City.

In his message, Piñol announced that the Department will focus in providing assistance that will enable farmers to improve productivity and increase income, including the provision of efficient credit facilities such as the Production Loan Easy Access and Farm Machineries and Equipment Loan Program.

Piñol added that DA will build more solar-powered irrigation systems (SPIS) in key production areas this year.

As such, he instructed DA Undersecretary for Operations Ariel T. Cayanan to draft a memorandum addressed to the Department of Interior and Local Government, urging the local government units to provide a complete list of available areas for the installation of SPIS unit.

“DA aims to establish 169 units of SPIS all over the country in 2018. By 2019, we will establish 2,000 more units to irrigate 100,000 hectares of farm areas. This is one of our strategies to attain rice self-sufficiency. ### (Kristel Merle/DA-AFID)