Agriculture Secretary William Dar led the distribution of P135.4 million worth of project assistance to rice and corn farmers on September 24, 2019 in Iloilo.

Under the DA-6 Rice and Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) program, the farmers received 27 units of hand tractor, 20 units of rice thresher, 20 units of pump and engine, 1 unit of corn sheller, 2 units of transplanter walk behind, 1 unit of ride-on transplanter, 4 units of floating tiller, 4 units of mini four-wheel tractor, and 2 units of mobile dryer.

Dar appealed to farmers to unite by forming themselves into cooperatives so they can achieve the full development in agriculture.

“Kapag sama-sama, mas magaling ang inyong leveraging powers. Kung kayo ay nakikiusap sa mga ahensya, the cooperative will have more power and you will be able to pursue what you like to have in terms of assistance and priorities the government will do,” Dar said.

Meanwhile, a total of P675,000 financial assistance was distributed under the Expanded Survival And Recovery Assistance program (SURE Aid) of the Agricultural Credit Policy Council, while the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) awarded P147 M in insurance coverage.

The National Food Authority (NFA) Western Visayas distributed 15 units of mobile dryer, 11 units of mini 4-wheel tractor, 11 units of combine harvester, 11 units of transplanter, and 250 units of granule applicator under the Machinery for Agricultural Needs Incentive (MANI). The program, implemented to ensure rice buffer stocks, provides farm machineries to cooperatives and farmers’ organization that participate in the local procurement of palay. ### (Kristel Merle, DA-AFID)