Gensan farmers, fishermen receive P12-M assistance

GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- More than a thousand farmers and fishermen here received some P12 million worth of assistance packages from the city government and the Department of Agriculture (DA).

Merlinda Donasco, City Agriculture Office (CAO), said Tuesday the assistance is comprised of farm inputs and fishing implements and project grants that were released by the agency through the local government.

Donaso said the farm inputs, which were acquired by the city government, comprised of 400 bags of corn seeds and 515 bags of certified palay seeds.

She said six farmers who have established technodemo facilities received 30 bags of hybrid rice seeds.

Donasco said the recipients were from the farming barangays of Baluan, Buayan, Lagao, Katangawan, Ligaya, Tinagacan, Batomelong, Upper Labay, Olympog, Mabuhay, Conel, and Bawing.

She said the local government spent around P3.5 million for the purchase of the inputs through a budget approved by City Mayor Ronnel Rivera last year.

In partnership with the DA’s Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, the official said 14 small fishermen received life vests while 10 others got gill nets.

The recipients were from the coastal barangays of Buayan and Labangal, she said.

Under the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP), which is implemented by DA, Donasco said two farm cooperatives received project and equipment grants worth P8.4 million.

The Tinagacan Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Cooperative received a unit of 10-wheeler truck worth P5 million while the Sinawal Small Farmers Association got a coco syrup processing and marketing facility worth P3.4 million.

The Vineyard Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Cooperative received a certificate of approval from the PRDP for its nursery facility project.

In a statement, Mayor Ronel Rivera said the local government is currently working on more partnerships with the DA and other agencies to provide for the needs of the city’s fishing and farm sectors. FKA/PNA