DA seeks to free farmers from middlemen’s control
BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
ILOILO City – The Department of Agriculture (DA) is crafting programs that will capacitate rice farmers – from plowing and planting to harvesting, drying, milling, and marketing.
The goal, according to Agriculture secretary Manny Piñol, is to free farmers from the control of middlemen who are the ones earning much from the farmers’ toil.
“We are starting a revolution,” Piñol told over 900 farmers during the Farmers and Cooperative Day in Dingle, Iloilo on Oct. 29.
Farmers should gain fairly from his labor and sacrifices, stressed Piñol whose grandfather Jose was a native of Dingle.
The DA chief committed a total of P100 million to support local agriculture.
Next wet planting season, rice farmers may avail themselves of loans through DA’s Production Loan Easy Access program, said Piñol.
Qualified farmers could obtain a credit of P15,000 per hectare after undergoing an orientation by the DA’s Agricultural Credit Policy Council and issuance of the Juan Magsasaka Card.
According to Municipal Agriculturist Marfe Quinlat, Dingle has an average rice production of 4.19 metric tons (MT) per hectare.
Piñol urged farmers to increase their yield up to 10MT per hectare by using high-performing hybrid rice varieties.
“With this loan program, you can buy quality (hybrid) seeds and fertilizers. This is a non-collateral credit program with only six percent interest rate per year,” said Piñol.
The Dingle Multi-Purpose Cooperative and the Dingle Government Workers Development Cooperative will serve as lending conduits of the Production Loan Easy Access program.
Piñol also promised a P60-million equipment loan to Dingle farmers at two percent interest per annum.
To address the farmers’ marketing problem, Piñol proposed several projects for Dingle farmers.
“We will put up a dryer that can dry up to 200 MT every four hours, and one silo that can store from 10,000 MT to 20,000 MT of palay,” he said. (With a report from SMH Toreno, DA-6/PN)
