Sen. Villar Distributes Agricl. Interventions To Yolanda Victims

Sen. Villar Distributes Agricl.

Interventions To Yolanda Victims

By: James Earl E. Ogatis

Iloilo City – Senator Cynthia A. Villar, Chairperson Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food distributed additional agricultural interventions to the victims of super typhoon Yolanda to the municipalities San Rafael, San Dionisio and Barotac Viejo, Iloilo last week.

She handed over to some 500 beneficiaries from the three municipalities 240 packs of white corn seeds, 3,000 packs of assorted vegetable seeds (PAKBET), 450 pieces jackfruit seedlings, 60 packs of certified seeds (RC 238), 2,000 coconut seedlings and coconut fertilizers, 213 sets of garden tools (spade and trowel) and one unit hand tractor with trailer.

Villar said, the DA 6 is committed to give additional nine units of steel layer cages with 40 heads ready-to-lay pullets and 530 bags of certified seeds RC 238 to the farmers of the three municipalities. 

Aside from the agricultural inputs, Senator Villar also distributed G.I. sheets, nails and tying wires for roofs of some 300 affected families; medical kits from Las Piñas Red Cross, relief goods and 90 bags of organic fertilizers from savanna.

She said, the Villar Foundation together with the DA has already visited a total of 45 towns affected by Yolanda wherein 13 towns in Iloilo, 4 towns each in the provinces of Capiz, Aklan, and Cebu and ten towns each in the provinces of Leyte and Samar.

According to Villar, there are 33 million work force nationwide and 11 million of these are in the agriculture sector, 13 million are OFW and the rest are distributed to other sectors.

“With these data, there are 40 percent poor people in the agri. sector who need our help that is why all of my legislations is inclined for the benefit of the farmers in the countryside.” Villar said.

Sen. Villar is working on the disposition of the coco levy fund for the coconut farmers, pushing for the amendments of the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998 and sponsored the sugarcane industry development act of 2014, a bill which will prepare the local sugar industry for the impact of ASEAN integration in 2015.

Director Manuel O. Olanday, Regional Technical Director for Operations said that white corn seeds, Pakbet vegetable seeds and jackfruit seedlings are produced from the different research outreach stations (ROS) of the DA in the region. These interventions are part of the DA rehabilitation assistance on Yolanda and Haiyan agricultural rehabilitation program.

According to Olanday, early intervention of DA 6 includes provision of cash for work on clearing and desilting operations; vaccination of animals; distribution of drugs, disinfectants and biologics; restocking of swine and goats; provision of mushroom fruiting bags and insurance coverage to rice farmers. /MP