SUPPORT TO AGRICULTURE. Department of Agriculture–Caraga Director Ricardo Oñate Jr. (2nd from left) is joined by the different heads of attached bureaus of the agriculture department during the press conference in Butuan City on Monday (March 14, 2022). Around 3,802 corn farmers and fisherfolk in Caraga Region will benefit from the fuel subsidy program of the government to lessen the impact of the series of oil price hikes. (PNA photo by Alexander Lopez)
BUTUAN CITY – To cushion the impact of an oil price increase on the agriculture sector in the Caraga Region, a one-time PHP3,000 fuel subsidy will be given each to 3,802 corn farmers and fisherfolk in the area.
“Of the 3,802 beneficiaries for the fuel subsidy, around 2,186 are fishermen while 1,616 are corn farmers,” Department of Agriculture – Caraga (DA-13) Director Ricardo Oñate Jr. said during a press conference Monday.
Oñate said DA-13 and its attached agencies, such as the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in Caraga Region (BFAR-13), are also finalizing the list of names of beneficiaries for the subsidy program.
Last week, the national government announced the appropriation of PHPP2.5 billion for the fuel subsidy program of the Department of Transportation and the PHP500 million fuel grant for the DA.
In a separate interview, Marissa Garces, the DA-13 rice focal person, said the subsidy will answer the fuel needs of the equipment and machinery of farmers belonging to the different corn clusters in the region.
“We have 34 corn clusters spread in the different towns in Agusan del Sur, Agusan del Norte, and Surigao del Sur,” Garces said.
Each cluster, she said, covers at least 400 hectares of cornfields in the region.
For the fishermen, the subsidy will cover the sea and inland fisherfolk in the region, said Omina Olama, the chief of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources – 13 fisheries management, regulatory, and enforcement division.
“We are still working on the list of fisherfolk, including the areas that will be covered by the program. Among the considerations, we are looking into are areas with a high concentration of production and those severely affected by the recent Typhoon Odette in Caraga Region,” Olama said.
Meanwhile, Jasmine Reyes, the focal person of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) of the Philippine Rice Research Institute – Agusan, said the agency is allocating 136,000 bags of certified inbred rice seeds for the region.
“This will benefit around 54,000 rice farmers in the provinces of Agusan del Sur, Agusan del Norte and Surigao del Sur,” Reyes said. (PNA)
