BAGUIO CITY — League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) National President Joseph Sto. Niño B. Bernos representing all town mayors in the country signed on Monday a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) on farming support services seeking to create a sustainable mechanism for enhancing food security and increasing market access for local farmers.

“Through this agreement, the municipalities will be the guarantor of affordable and accessible rice for the people,” Mr. Bernos said.

“As my term as LMP National President nears completion, I want to leave behind a legacy that will boost agricultural productivity and spur rural development that resonate with many of our fellow mayors,” he explained.

Mr. Bernos, who is the incumbent La Paz, Abra mayor, overwhelmingly won in the congressional race in his home province during the May 12 polls.

Under the agreement, NIA will procure the rice from the Irrigators’ Associations under the Contract Farming item in the General Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2024, amounting to P3.4 billion.

The municipal local government units will then purchase rice from NIA at a fair price, which in turn will be bought by cooperatives who will sell it to the market.

The LGUs will also seek to build the capacities of local cooperatives to ensure readiness and compliance with the MoA.

Mr. Bernos signed the MoA alongside NIA Administrator Eduardo Eddie G. Guillen and witnessed by LMP officials. — Artemio A. Dumlao

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