Mt. Province adopts ‘East to West,West to East’ agri scheme to help farmers
BONTOC, Mountain Province, Apr.13 (PIA) – The provincial leadership here has come up with a scheme of helping the farmers while providing nourishment for the constituents amidst the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine as a preventive measure to halt the transmission of the coronavirus 2019(COVID-19).
The “East-to-West, West-to-East” is an agri-scheme initiated by the Provincial Local Government Unit (PLGU) and the Office of the Congressman, wherein produce from vegetable producing towns in the western part of the province are brought to the non-vegetable producing eastern municipalities. In turn, the products of the eastern towns, mainly bananas are delivered to the western towns as relief assistance in this time of COVID.
In the April 8 facebook post of the provincial government, 65, 993 kilograms or 65.9 tons of vegetables and other agri-products– 17.993 tons of assorted vegetables and 48 tons of bananas (saba locally called dippig) were bought from farmers and distributed to beneficiaries under this arrangement.
Governor Bonifacio Lacawasan, Jr. and Congressman Maximo Dalog, Jr. spearheaded the initial purchase of vegetables and agri products for distribution to the different municipalities.
As explained by Lacwasan, they carried out this initiative to help farmers who cannot bring their produce to markets outside the province because of the lockdown. The PLGU thru the PDRRMC and the Office of the Congressman buy the products of local farmers as a way to help them dispose of their produce during the implementation of the ECQ and at the same time, use these vegetables and fruits as additional relief goods that are healthy.
“This agri-product distribution scheme will be most beneficial not only to our farmers but also to our people as the latter avail of products which they could not possibly have access to under the present ECQ implementation,” said Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Officer(PDRRMO) Edward F. Chumawar, Jr.
“The move of the PDRRMC and the Office of the Congressman will ensure that people in the province will not go hungry and that the livelihood of our agricultural sector will not severely suffer,” Erlindo Agwilang, spokesperson of Office of the Congressman, added.
The governor himself has been leading the distribution of assorted vegetables such cabbage, wombok, potatoes, carrots, sayote and beans and the bananas to the different towns. Last April 2, he turned over P76, 650.00 worth of assorted vegetables to the municipality of Barlig thru Mayor Clark Ngaya.
On April 7, Lacwasan turned over the vegetables procured from the local farmers of Bauko and Sabangan to Paracelis Mayor Marcos Ayangwa. Fresh vegetables were also sent to Natonin.
The capital town of Bontoc earlier received fresh vegetables bought by the PLGU from local farmers belonging to the Napua Binnadang Organization in Sabangan.
The town of Sadanga was also given vegetables and bananas.
Meanwhile, the 20,000 kilos of banana procured from the local producers in the municipality of Paracelis were distributed last week to the western municipalities of Sabangan, Tadian Bauko, Besao and Sagada.
The LGUs are responsible in distributing the relief aid to their respective barangays who will be in charge in distributing to their own constituents.
The DPWH engineering districts, national line agencies and some private vehicles are instrumental in the delivery of all these relief assistance to the different municipalities.
The PDRRMC will continue to purchase agricultural products of the farmers in the province to alleviate their plight in these trying times. (JDP/PIA CAR, Mtn. Province)
source https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1038783