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34K NegOcc farmers, fishers get cash, food aid under Bayanihan 2

By Nanette Guadalquiver

December 8, 2020, 5:42 pm

<p><strong>CASH, FOOD AID</strong>. Agriculture Secretary William Dar (3rd from right, back row), Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson (2nd from left, back row), and other officials pose with some of the recipients of the PHP5,000 cash and food assistance from the Department of Agriculture during the turnover rites held at Panaad gymnasium in Bacolod City on Tuesday (Dec. 8, 2020). Some 34,000 non-rice farmers and fisherfolk in the province benefited from the aid as part of the national government’s Covid-19 response under the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan 2). <em>(PNA photo by Nanette L. Guadalquiver)</em></p>

CASH, FOOD AID. Agriculture Secretary William Dar (3rd from right, back row), Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson (2nd from left, back row), and other officials pose with some of the recipients of the PHP5,000 cash and food assistance from the Department of Agriculture during the turnover rites held at Panaad gymnasium in Bacolod City on Tuesday (Dec. 8, 2020). Some 34,000 non-rice farmers and fisherfolk in the province benefited from the aid as part of the national government’s Covid-19 response under the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan 2). (PNA photo by Nanette L. Guadalquiver)

BACOLOD CITY – Some 34,000 farmers and fisherfolk in Negros Occidental received cash and food subsidy worth PHP5,000 each under the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan 2) response of the national government to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) crisis.
 
Implemented by the Department of Agriculture (DA), this time the assistance was given to corn, coconut, and sugarcane farmers, as well as those engaged in fishing.
 
This was after more than 20,000 rice farmers in the province received a similar aid under the Bayanihan 1 earlier this year.
 
Agriculture Secretary William Dar and Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson led the turnover rites held at the Panaad gymnasium here on Tuesday.
 
“One of our priorities under the Bayanihan 2 is the cash and food assistance to non-rice farmers,” Dar said.
 
Each of the 34,000 beneficiaries got PHP3,000 in cash, PHP1,000 worth of rice, and PHP1,000 in chicken and eggs for a total amount of PHP170 million.
 
They were identified through the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Philippine Coconut Authority, Sugar Regulatory Administration, and the DA Corn Program.
 
To receive the assistance from the national government, recipients should be registered in the Registry for Basic Sector in Agriculture and have not received aid under the Social Amelioration Program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Agrarian Reform, and other emergency assistance.
 
Dar said the department has allocated PHP4.5 billion for the cash and food subsidy set to benefit almost 890,000 non-rice farmers across the country.
 
One of the recipients, Sammy Nacion, of the Manga Fisherfolk Association in Sagay City, thanked President Rodrigo Duterte for providing assistance to farmers and fishermen like him.
 
“To our President, I pray that for his good health and protection so he can continue to serve the people,” Nacion said in Cebuano when giving his message of acceptance.  
 
Under the Bayanihan 2, Dar said the DA is implementing programs under three components.
 
These are the social protection and amelioration support to farming and fishing communities; enhancement support programs to increase farm productivity; and income-generating support programs, such as the construction of farm-to-market roads, establishment of farm markets, and agri-industrial business corridors; and provision of logistics support. (PNA)
 
 

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