More than 1,500 farmers in South Cotabato gathered at the Tantangan Municipal Grounds to receive P39.996-million worth of agricultural interventions from the Department of Agriculture (DA).

Coinciding with Tantangan’s 59th Founding Anniversary, 10th Kulitangtang Festival, and Farmers’ Day, Agriculture Secretary William Dar awarded the agricultural projects and delivered an inspirational message for the province’s agriculture sector on January 23.

“This occasion is about continuity, perseverance, determination, and focus to accomplish our mandated tasks in pursuit of building a progressive nation,” Secretary Dar said.

He added that the DA is shifting its focus from the production system to the entire agri-industry value chain and translate its vision of food security with prosperous farmers and fishers.

The interventions distributed include P2.3-million worth farm machinery and equipment from the DA Rice Program, P1.52-million worth certified seeds from the Philippine Rice Research Institute, and Bottom-up Budgeting Program amounting to P7.87 million from the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

“It will be a big help for us, especially in cultivation. If given a chance, we will also propose an irrigation project since we depend on rainfall,” Barangay Dumdalig Ilocano Farmers’ Association President Antonio Corpuz said in the local dialect after receiving a hand tractor.

Upland rice worth P12,000 from the Organic Agriculture Program, plastic crates worth P50,000 from the High-Value Crops Development Program, and native pigs worth P225,000 from the Livestock Program were also awarded to the farmers.

Seven hundred farmers also received P5,000 cash each from the Development Bank of the Philippines for the initial release of the Rice Farmers Financial Assistance (RFFA) Project in South Cotabato.

The RFFA was launched in December 2019 to assist small rice farmers most affected by the initial impact of the Rice Tariffication Law. ### (Gumamela Celes Bejarin, DA-AFID)