FARM equipment and machineries worth P39.98 million was turned over by the Department of Agriculture (DA) to the Department of National Defense (DND) for use of Army Agricultural Engineers (AAE) in connection to agricultural rehabilitation in Marawi City.
The AAE was created through President Rodrigo Duterte’s directive which included DA providing army personnel who are already has knowledge of operating agricultural machineries. These army personnel will be assigned to a separate group which will be called the AAE. The DA, on the other hand, will be providing the equipment needed.
On his official Facebook page, agriculture secretary Manny Piñol said this new approach of the president to rehabilitate agriculture in the conflict areas is done so to ensure that equipment and assistance provided by the DA will directly benefit the farmers and not political leaders for their own personal agenda.
Last Wednesday, December 27, at Lanao del Sur, 9 units of 100-horsepower farm tractors, rice planters, and threshers. Combine harvesters, corn shellers, and water pumps were also included in those that were turned over by DA to DND as well. This is on top of the various rice, seeds, and other farm inputs amounting to P3.637 million that DA awarded to the farm-families.
“Additional machineries will be turned over to the newly-formed Army Agricultural Engineering Battalions which will undertake the plowing, planting, and harvesting in the farms in conflict areas,” Piñol said in his page.
“Aside from the mission of defending the country from enemies of the State, army soldiers now will also be plowing the fields using modern equipment provided by the Department of Agriculture and helping farmers harvest their produce and deliver this to the nearest market,” he added.
As for their part, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) gave out P1.2-million fishery assistance which includes 60 non-motorized fiberglass boats and go units of gill nets among others. Sixty beneficiaries were also given operating capital worth P2,500 each.
Pinol assured that the same approach will also be implemented in other conflict areas in the country in the future. Farm machineries and equipment will be operated by army soldiers and will be used for freee in developing the farms of poor families.