Thirty provincial local government units (PLGUs) have shown full support to Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary William D. Dar and the measures that he presented to arrest low palay prices and cushion its impact on farmers.

“The League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) is fully behind you in your projects and programs. For sure we want to make our farmers and agricultural growers and producers financially stable,” relayed LPP President and Marinduque Governor Presbitero J. Velasco, Jr. during a meeting held on September 3, 2019.

Initially, governors of 13 rice-producing provinces answered the Secretary’s call for the PLGUs to allot funds to bankroll palay-buying, drying, milling, and rice marketing. They are the governors of Isabela, Nueva Ecija, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, Tarlac, Pampanga, Bulacan, Cagayan, and Bataan, who collectively have allotted a total of P3 billion in funds.

During Dar’s meeting with the LPP, 17 more PLGUs have expressed intent to partner with the DA. They are the PLGUs of Camarines Sur, Apayao, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Biliran, Sarangani, Iloilo, Kalinga, Zamboanga Sibugay, Mountain Province, Oriental Mindoro, Marinduque, Bohol, Capiz, Lanao del Sur, Albay, and North Cotabato.

“We are happy that we have you as equal partners of the Department of Agriculture,” Dar said.

LPP President Velasco recognized the PLGUs’ role in the proper implementation of the Rice Trade Liberalization Law. He said, “We are fully supportive of your thrusts and directions that we will take for the benefit of our hardworking but more or less destitute farmers and growers.” ### (Gumamela Celes Bejarin, DA-AFID)