THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said it will provide farmers and fisherfolk in Occidental Mindoro about P300 million worth of projects and programs in 2020.

In a statement, Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar “committed P70 million for agriculture and P54 million for the fisheries sector. He also allocated P51 million for unconditional cash transfers, which will be released under the Rice Farmers’ Financial Assistance (RFFA) Program.”

“This year, with the excess tariff revenues following the implementation of the Rice Tarrification Law, DA will implement the second round of RFFA. Starting mid-February, more than 10,000 farmers will receive P5,000 from the department,” Mr. Dar noted.

The DA will also invest P100 million for Solar-Powered Irrigation Systems (SPIS) in the province.

In a separate statement, the DA said that Oriental Mindoro will receive P100 million for crop production and P6 million for animal production in 2020, as well as P115 million from the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) in the first half.

The DA through the Development Bank of the Philippines also distributed P53 million worth of cash assistance to farmers in the province. More than 10,000 farmers tilling half a hectare to two hectares will also receive the P5,000-financial assistance under RFFA.

“Starting now, the 28,000 hectares will be devoted to rice production and the assistance is in the form of agri-machinery and equipment, seed, training and credit,” Mr. Dar said.

He said that there will also be “funding support for the upgrading of rice processing centers in the province, the establishment of a food terminal covering in the municipality of Victoria, and Farm-to-Market road Projects,” as well as “for the upgrading of Food Technology Laboratory and Tissue Culture Laboratory for saba and calamansi in Mindoro State College of Agriculture and Technology.” — Vincent Mariel P. Galang

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