CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Agriculture authorities distributed over the weekend some P63 million worth of farm implements and an assortment of livestock to farmers from various municipalities of Pampanga Province in simple rites held at the Provincial Engineer’s Office Compound in Barangay Sindalan here.
Department of Agriculture (DA) Regional Director Roy Abaya, who presided over the ceremony accompanied by Vice Governor Dennis Pineda, said the farm equipment is vital to the government food security program, and will slash the harvest cost of farmers using the new farming technology.
Abaya said the provincial government earlier requested DA Secretary Manny Piñol to address the need of farmers in Pampanga to improve their yields and the quality of their produce.
DA dispatched 148 shallow tube wells, 5 PISOS (pump irrigation system for open water source), 19 mini four-wheel tractors, 28 hand tractors, 1 floating tiller, 15 drum seeders, 8 rice transplanters, 10 combine harvesters, 5 palay threshers, 5 rice reapers, 2 recirculating dryers with biomass furnace, 12 MPDP (multi-purpose drying pavement), 1 flash dryer and 1 portable rice mill/dehuller.
Aquino Guzon, 75, president of the Miyabe-yabe Lacmit Multi-Purpose Cooperative in the town of Arayat, led 49 other farmers from various municipalities in attending the hand-over rites.
They expressed gladness and gratitude to DA and Vice Governor Pineda for the support.
“Farmers are a priority of the administration of President Duterte as shown by these forms of assistance,” Vice Governor Pineda said adding the equipment and livestock must be taken with utmost care.
“These are all given to you at no cost, so your responsibility is to take care of these machinery, that you can use them for many years,” Pineda said.
In July 2016, the provincial capitol distributed seven mini-tractors, 12 hand tractors, four rice transplanters, six rice reapers, a combine harvester and 51 shallow tube wells to 87 cooperatives.
The vice governor and the provincial board also passed Resolution No. 4370 asking the Department of Agriculture and National Irrigation Administration (NIA) to provide free irrigation to farmers in Pampanga.
Abaya said irrigation comes free when water supply is sourced from NIA facilities.