THE Department of Agriculture (DA) in Western Visayas has provided much-needed support to the agriculture sector in the region in terms of equipment acquisition and marketing assistance.

"The government's intervention into the agriculture sectors is aimed at boosting our inclusive growth. We want to provide our farmers with better opportunities and means so they can maximize their income," Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Lloyd Dino said.

Dino said the Covid-19 crisis has clearly exposed the importance of the agriculture sector, and so it deserves to be prioritized in terms of government aid intervention.

The DA-Western Visayas turned over P7.6 million worth of agricultural equipment and infrastructure to the Bariga-Magdalo Farmers Irrigators Association Inc. (BMFIAI) in Barangay Bariga, Banate town, Iloilo.

The assistance includes one P2 million Rice Combine Harvester, one P1.3 million Mini Four Wheel Drive Tractor, one P1.3-million Mechanical Rice Transplanter and a P3-million Multipurpose Center.

The assistance is expected to support the Community Hybrid Rice Model Farm in Banate.

"It is the first community-based model farm for hybrid rice in Western Visayas, covering 100 hectares of rice area," Assistant Secretary Jonji Gonzales of the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (Opav) said during the October 5 Laging Handa briefing.

Of the 1,000 farmers association in the region, the Bariga-Magdalo farmers group was chosen as the first recipient of the project, Gonzales added.

The DA-Western Visayas has urged the association to use the equipment properly by creating a policy on how to manage them.

The farmers group is also urged to come up with income-generating activities to raise funds for the repair and maintenance of the machines.

Aside from providing farm equipment, the DA-Western Visayas, in partnership with some local government units (LGUs) in the region, has started marketing initiatives that have helped achieve an accumulated P318-million sales of agri-fishery products in the region.

The DA-Western Visayas implemented the Kadiwa Ani at Kita through Kadiwa outlets, Kadiwa-on-wheels and online modes. Since its launching in March, the Kadiwa ni Ani at Kita generated total sales of more than P25.947 million.

Meanwhile, the Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Division of DA-Western Visayas directly linked farmers organizations to local markets, generating sales of P24.359 million worth of agri-fishery products.

The Kadiwa ni Ani at Kita has helped ensure food availability and access to affordable products in the region.

The different LGUs in the region also helped the farmers and fisherfolk by buying an estimated P267.8 million worth of assorted farm products, which they used in their relief operations.

The LGUs' initiatives benefited more than 385,000 farmers and fisherfolk, Gonzales said. (PR)