HARVEST. Farmers in La Union province harvest their crops in this undated photo. The provincial government has created a PHP3 million emergency trust fund to help farmers and fisherfolk affected by El Niño. (Photo courtesy of Province of La Union)
MALASIQUI, Pangasinan – The provincial government of La Union has put up a PHP3 million emergency trust fund that El Niño-affected registered farmers and fisherfolk can tap into.
Dry spell-affected farmers and fisherfolk can avail of the financing upon validation of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPAG).
"We have seen that the first to be affected are farmers and fisherfolk so we have allocated funds for their insurance and farm equipment and vegetable seeds that are drought-resistant," Governor Raphaelle Veronica Ortega-David said in a statement in Filipino.
In a separate statement, OPAG officer-in-charge Sharon Viloria said they encouraged farmers to cultivate short-gestating crops such as vegetable crops months before the dry spell hit the province.
"We have recommended to the farmers that they plant drought-resistant commodities and crops that do not take longer to produce to prevent intensive use of water," she said.
Some rice farmers are planting corn and mung beans as alternative to rice to cushion the impacts of El Niño phenomenon, she said.
OPAG also procured vegetable seeds and farming tools to be distributed this month as an additional assistance to farmers.
Meanwhile, the Office of the Provincial Veterinarian is currently conducting free deworming and is distributing free vitamins and supplements to small and large ruminants to maintain their health during the dry spell. (PNA)
