Irrigators, farmer groups to get P100,000 fuel subsidy

Monday, February 13, 2012

MEXICO -- Irrigators and farmer groups from different towns of Pampanga’s third district are set to receive fuel subsidies amounting to P100,000 from Representative Aurelio Gonzales Jr. this March.

This developed as Gonzales met with the Irrigators Associations (IA) of Arayat, Sta. Ana., Mexico, Bacolor and the City of San Fernando at the home of IA officer Ner Sambile here over the weekend.

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The IA members have been complaining about the exorbitant price of fuel that they use to operate irrigation machines in their respective areas.

“The price of fuel is very high nowadays. Farmers find it very difficult to irrigate their fields. The cost, in fact, deprives farmers of good income from their produce as it adds up to the cost of production,” Sambile told Sun.Star Pampanga.

Gonzales said he has instructed his staff to process the subsidy in time for the dry-cropping season this March. He said the assistance will be forwarded to the organizations for their distribution to respective beneficiary farmers.

“The assistance is part of our commitment to help the agriculture sector in the district meet their requirements,” Gonzales said, adding he also committed to help the farmers meet their needs in terms of farm equipment and mechanization.

“Currently, the Department of Agriculture is implementing a mechanization program for farmers wherein the department would shoulder 70 percent of the cost while the rest will be shouldered by the farmer organizations,” Gonzales said.

He added that he will be giving farmer organizations detailed programs and proposals for machine acquisition, and the move is part of the initiative to make farmer groups more self-efficient in terms of their farm production.

“We envision farmers to become more self-efficient and become little entrepreneurs so that they will no longer be victims of the vicious cycle of dependence from assistances and high cost of farm inputs,” Gonzales said.