THE almost P96 million development fund intended for the implementation of various priority programs and projects this year is seen to enhance the agro-fishery industry of Negros Occidental.
The figure forms part of the province’s 20 percent Provincial Development Fund for 2018 amounting to almost P393 million approved by the Provincial Board earlier this month.
Provincial Agriculturist Japhet Masculino Wednesday, February 14, said additional budget for agriculture and fishery will surely impact the lives of local farmers and fisherfolk especially with the introduction of technologies and provision of assistance.
The development fund covers nine priority projects under the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA).
Bulk of these projects include on-farm mechanization program worth P25 million; establishment of Agri-fishery Laboratory Center, P20 million; counterpart fund for irrigation project with the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), almost P19.9 million; construction of additional structure at Panaad Organic Village, P10 million; and counterpart fund for the Department of Agriculture (DA) irrigation project, P8.1 million.
Other programs include support to high-value crop development program, P5 million; establishment of agriculture tramline in Silay City, P4 million; coastal fisheries resources management program, P2.3 million; and fishery inter-local alliance program, P1.6 million.
“Through these projects up for implementation this year, hopefully we can attain higher production of agro-fishery products while improving the profitability of our farmers,” he added.
Earlier, the Provincial Government said it is currently exploring possible “guarantee” scheme agreement with machinery companies in its bid to further boost rice production and farmers’ income through farm mechanization.
The province will utilize the P25-million development fund to jumpstart its farm mechanization program.
Masculino said the scheme will enable the province to “stretch” the fund thereby creating more service providers and benefiting more farmers.
He stressed that irrigation plays an important part in boosting the province’s production output for rice and other crops.
The counterpart fund for construction and rehabilitation of irrigation systems totaled P28 million.
“If we have water, we can play as to what commodities to produce,” he said, adding that irrigation projects enable local farmers to produce more and varied crops.
OPA records showed that the province’s average rice production is pegged at 4.2 metric tons per hectare. Its rice sufficiency level is about 93 percent.
Through farm mechanization and improvement of irrigation systems, OPA hopes to increase the production even by at least one metric ton per hectare.
“With this small increase, we can already attain a hundred percent rice self-sufficiency level,” its head said.