PARCHED. A rice farm in Bayawan City, Negros Oriental is all dried up due to the El Niño phenomenon in this undated photo. The provincial government of Negros Oriental will begin distributing rice assistance to affected farmers in the province on June 19, 2024. (Photo courtesy of DA)
DUMAGUETE CITY – The provincial government of Negros Oriental will begin distributing this week the 25-kilo of rice assistance for each farmer-beneficiary affected by the El Niño, officials said Tuesday.
In an interview, Provincial Agriculture Office (PAO) chief Emmanuel Caduyac said the roll out will be held in the towns of Dauin and Zamboanguita on Wednesday, with the other local government units (LGUs) scheduled in the coming days.
“The rice assistance is taken from the PHP20 million, which Governor Manuel Sagarbarria had previously allocated, to be sourced from the province’s Quick Response Fund (QRF),” Caduyac said.
The QRF of some PHP51 million represents 30 percent of the province’s Calamity Fund that can now be used to mitigate the effects of the El Niño after Negros Oriental was declared under a state of calamity.
“Priority will be given to LGUs and farmers who were the hardest hit by the drought, based on the list and recommendation from the towns and cities,” Caduyac said.
The assistance from the provincial government is aside from the rice and financial assistance being handed over to farmers in Negros Oriental by the national government through the Department of Agriculture, he said.
Meanwhile, Hilton Edrial, Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) chief, said 1,000 farmers each from Dauin and Zamboanguita have been identified to receive the rice assistance.
The PSWDO will be leading the distribution, to be attended by the governor and other provincial and local officials.
Edrial, however, said only 14,000 of the 22,000 farmers affected by the El Niño, as reported by the DA here, will be given rice assistance due to budgetary constraints.
He said he is hoping that LGUs can also allocate some amount for assistance to farmers in their respective jurisdictions, especially since they can now also use their own calamity funds. (PNA)
