While rice is considered the Filipinos’ staple food, most of the rice farmers and their families in the country are unable to have a remarkable improvement in their quality of life particularly in their livelihood and earnings. Currently, fertilizer rates in the country went up and costs around P 2,500 to P 3,000 per sack, higher than the rate from the previous year which costs around P 1,200. But the average price of the harvested palay seeds which costs around P 14 per kilogram causes a great income loss to the farmers.
That is why the government is taking the extra mile in providing services and assistance to the agricultural sector, particularly the rice farmers.
To aid the differing needs of the rice farmers in the province of Camarines Sur, the Department of Agriculture - Regional Field Office No.5 Bicol Region (DA-RFO 5) and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), in partnership with the Provincial Government of Camarines Sur, conducted the Rice Farmers Financial Assistance to farmer beneficiaries from the different municipalities of the province.
Each beneficiary will receive cash assistance amounting to P 5,000. A total of 10,383 farmers from all the municipalities of Camarines Sur including Iriga City will receive the said assistance.
Nilda Amar Delos Reyes, a 63 year-old beneficiary from Tabuc, Pamplona, shared how the pandemic greatly affected their livelihood. She said, “Ngunyan, an barakalan samo kang paroy katorse, grabe an epekto kani samuya ta nagmarahalan an abono, an krudo kaya naapektaran kami ta barato an bakal samo kan paroy. Medyo nadadaog kaming mga para-uma. Medyo lugi na ta mayo kaming nadedelensya.”
“Maogma kaming maray ta nakakaiba kami sa mga programa kan gobyerno. Salamat po sa tabang na ining P5,000 kan DA asin DBP ta makakatabang na ini sa samuyang pag-uma ta mahal na ngunyan mga gastuson. Maibabakal mi na ining fertilizer asin mga pang-spray. Nagpapasalamat kami ta nakabali kami igdi. Nagpapasalamat man ako ki Gov. Migz, ki Sir Luigi asin sa saindang ama na Congressman kan primer distrito, Cong. Lray ta dakula na ang itinatabang ninda samuya,” Delos Reyes gratefully added.
Another beneficiary of the program, 58-year-old Romeo Nopia from Rizal, San Fernando, expressed his dismay on their harvests because of rats and birds eating the palay seeds on his farming land. He shared, “Ayos man po an pagu-uma ko kaya lang minsan, arog ngunyan naga-atake an kino. Iyo an nakakaperwisyo samong mga para-uma, an pag-atake kan kino asin gamgam, itong Maya. Kaya sa ngunyan, maluya si ani mi ta tigkirino asin tigturuka kan Maya.”
With hope and delight, Nopia added, “Makakatabang na po ining P5,000 na naresibe mi ngunyan, enot na enot pandagdag sa pambakal abono ta mahalon na baga po ngunyan abono ta, halos tres mil. Kaya nagpapasalamat kami sa mga nagtao samuya ka ining financial assistance. Dakulang pasalamat ko ta saro ako sa napili sa samong barangay. Maraming-maraming salamat po sa DA asin sa DBP po sa tinao ninda para samo. Asin sana habang yaun po sina Congressman Lray, Governor Migz, asin Sir Luigi, yaun man po an suporta ninda samong mga para-uma ta kami, yaun sainda an suporta dawa kaidto pa. Salamat man po sa mga tinatao nindang asistensya para samuya.”
The Provincial Government of Camarines Sur remains dedicated in extending much-needed assistance to all sectors of the province who are in need of it. With or without the pandemic, the local government’s commitment to serve its constituency remains strong.
