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Thursday, June 10, 2004
S. Cotabato officials bat for agri-support program
By Allen V. Estabillo
KORONADAL CITY -- South Cotabato governor Daisy Avance-Fuentes urged the Department of Agriculture (DA) and agricultural policy makers in the national government to chart policies that would establish a sustainable system in agriculture that is "easy and affordable" to farmers.
Speaking at the recent launching of DA's hybrid corn assistance expansion program in the province, the governor said the provincial government has been adopting the policies and thrusts of the national government but cited that some agricultural programs have failed to move forward due to higher capital requirements.
"During our dialogues with farmers in different parts of the province, their main problem really is the high cost of inputs and seeds that later compounded by the lower price of farm products during harvest time," Fuentes said.
The governor said there has been no problem with farmers in South Cotabato regarding adoption of new farming technologies saying most of them are adventurous and tend to use techniques that are new.
"The bottom line, however, is the profit. Even if we yield high, our profit could not compensate for the cost we spent during planting and maintenance," she said.
Ronald Salungan, Director III of the Agricultural Training Institute central office, acknowledged the governor's concern but assured that DA has been instituting some mechanisms that would ease the burden of local farmers especially on the high cost of inputs.
He pointed out that one aspect of DA's hybrid corn assistance expansion program covers the responsibilities and obligations of the department to provide the necessary assistance to farmers in terms of the provision of inputs and ensure that such assistance would reach them in time.
"This is the reason why we have the verification and program review to assess the weaknesses and strengths of the program to insure that every centavo spent by the government on the program redounds to the benefits of the farmers," he said.
Stressing the hybrid corn program, Salungan emphasized that at present modern technology is already "the name of the game."
"We have to use modern technique in agriculture to cope with the present terms of living," he said.
(June 10, 2004 issue)
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