HARVEST TIME. A farmer in La Union province harvests his crop in this undated photo. The province offers cash aid to drought-affected farmers and fisherfolk. (Photo courtesy of the Provincial Government of La Union)
MALASIQUI, Pangasinan – The provincial government of La Union is set to distribute cash aid ranging from PHP8,000 to PHP10,000 to farmers and fisherfolk in the province affected by drought.
"Our agenda to promote the welfare of our agricultural workers is aligned with the province’s vision to become the Heart of Agri-Tourism in Northern Luzon by 2025,” La Union Governor Raphaelle Veronica Ortega-David said in a statement on Friday.
She said the provision of cash assistance was mandated by Provincial Ordinance No. 425-2023, which aimed to provide cash assistance to farmers and fisherfolk who recorded partial and total crop damage, respectively.
Passed on July 28, 2023, the provincial ordinance aims to capacitate local farmers and fisherfolk whose livelihoods are usually impaired by natural calamities such as the current El Niño phenomenon.
Also known as the Agricultural Emergency Trust Fund, the ordinance has appropriated a total amount of PHP3 million, which is seen to benefit around 300 farmers.
“The ordinance’s implementing rules and regulations were recently approved, and hence we are now ready to implement it and provide timely assistance to affected agricultural workers,” officer-in-charge Provincial Agriculturist Sharon Viloria said in a separate statement.
She said affected farmers or fisherfolk must send an application letter and duly accomplished application form to the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPAG) to avail of the assistance.
"The applications shall then be endorsed to the respective city or municipal agriculture office which will facilitate the validation of the reported damage to assess actual cost and losses," Viloria said.
The applicant must be a member of an accredited farmer or fisherfolk's cooperative, she added.
OPAG continues to monitor and assess the farmers' reported damage due to the dry spell for the provision of emergency trust fund, she said.
On Jan. 19, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signed Executive Order (EO) No. 53 to streamline, reactivate and reconstitute the old El Niño task forces under EO No. 16 (s. 2001) and Memorandum Order No. 38 (s. 2019).
Under EO No. 53, the President instructed the task force to develop a comprehensive disaster preparedness and rehabilitation plan for El Niño and La Niña to provide “systematic, holistic, and results-driven interventions” to help the public cope and minimize their devastating effects. (PNA)
