Farmers in Ilocos Norte province continue to receive additional aid from national and local governments to cushion the impact of rising fuel and food prices.
In Sarrat town, municipal agriculturist Esteban Mario Ballesteros said in a media interview Wednesday that 1,620 registered farmers received family food packs (FFPs) from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
“We received additional aid from the DSWD through the provincial government of Ilocos Norte,” Ballesteros said, adding that the same farmer-beneficiaries received a fuel subsidy of PHP1,500 each from the municipal government in April.
This was affirmed by farmer Delie Ganal, an FFP and fuel subsidy recipient from Sarrat town.
“We are glad the government is helping us in this time of crisis. Life has been harder these days because of the increasing price of gasoline,” he said in a separate interview.
For another farmer, Reynante Gudoy, said he hopes more aid will be released to them, including tricycle drivers, who are most affected by the prevailing crisis.
Even before the start of the Middle East tension, the provincial government, in collaboration with various government agencies, has been distributing agricultural inputs, farm machinery, and livelihood assistance to individuals and farmers’ organizations.
Currently, 37,500 low-income households across the province are targeted to receive 10 kilograms of rice each. The rice distribution is funded by the Department of the Interior and Local Government via its Local Government Support Fund.
“This program was initiated by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., even before the current crisis we are facing, but its relevance is even more apparent today,” Governor Cecilia Araneta-Marcos said, as she and her team from the provincial government have been leading rice distribution across towns and cities in Ilocos Norte since last week.
“Our role in the provincial government is to ensure that this program reaches every Ilokano,” she added.
In addition to the rice and fuel subsidy distribution, farmers in need of any livelihood or transportation assistance may request assistance through the continuing implementation of the provincial government’s “Agri Ka Dito” program.
The program is a flagship initiative by the provincial government to support community farmers and fisherfolk by providing immediate aid amid rising agricultural input costs.
Farmers and fisherfolk can access assistance via hotlines from the Provincial Agriculture Office and the Sustainable Development Center. They may request inputs, marketing, transportation, irrigation systems like reservoirs and dams, livestock services, fingerlings, fishery supplies, and insurance.
Recent government data shows that more than PHP2 billion has been invested in this program to boost the province’s agriculture sector, its economic powerhouse.
By Leilanie Adriano