A TOTAL of 177 rice farmers in Hinigaran town have received P296,720 worth of early planting incentives from the Provincial Government of Negros Occidental.

Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson led the distribution held at the town's covered court on Thursday, May 20, 2021.

The incentive is part of the program of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) intended to minimize the impact of food shortage at the height of the pandemic last year.

The provincial government said to ensure food security and agricultural productivity in the province, farmers were encouraged to plant rice during April and May 2020.

This is to make sure that enough crops will be harvested in August.

The beneficiaries of the project are farmers who responded to the call of the provincial government to engage in early planting to supply the expected demand for rice, it added.

Lacson, for his part, said farmers have a huge contribution to the economy.

"[And that] food is the most important and basic need of the people especially with the present pandemic," he added

Also present at the activity were Fifth District Board Member Rita Gatuslao, Hinigaran Mayor Jose Nadie Arceo and Sangguniang Bayan Members led by Vice Mayor Teresita Gabrido, Supervising Agriculturist Dina Genzola and other OPA staff, and Hinigaran Agriculture Office staff headed by Ral Trompeta.