THE Negros Oriental Provincial Government will provide rice assistance to affected farmers in June as the province fights the impacts of the El Niño phenomenon.
Negros Oriental Governor Manuel “Chaco” Sagarbarria said on Monday, May 20, 2024, this is part of the measures that the provincial government embarked following its declaration of a state of calamity on April 30 due to widespread damage to its agricultural sector brought by the El Niño phenomenon.
The provincial government recorded at least P1 billion in damage to its crops and livestock.
To alleviate the impact of the continuous drought and to help the affected families of the farmers, the provincial government decided to distribute sacks of 25 kilos of rice to selected affected families.
“After meeting with the mayors, nagbigay ako nga options kung ano ang gusto niyo: abono o bugas. Sabi nila sa akin, ‘Bugas nalang guv,’ kasi kung abono hindi nila alam kung when ang ulan,” Sagarbarria said after the distribution of Certificate of Land Ownership Authority (CLOA) to over 2,400 beneficiaries in Central Visayas at the Lamberto Macias Sports and Cultural Complex in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental on Monday.
He added that the farmers were worried also with the impacts of the possible entry of another weather that would bring excessive rain, the La Niña phenomenon, to their crop production, opting to choose rice assistance instead of soil fertilizer and farm inputs.
Sagarbarria said the provincial government’s figures for affected families had reached 25,000 to 30,000 across the towns and cities in the province.
However, the governor clarified that the provincial government can only provide 25 kilos of rice to around 14,800 affected family beneficiaries due to the limited budget.
He added the provincial government has only a P20 million allocation for the purchase of rice under its calamity funds.
Sagarbarria said the list of affected families was sourced out from the Department of Agriculture in Central Visayas (DA 7) to identify the qualified families to maximize the distribution of rice assistance to those most affected only.
“Ang ginawa nalang is we choose those most affected. May mga farmers kasi na slightly affected lang, may mga farmers na majorly affected lang,” Sagarbarria said.
“The whole of June, we will be implementing all our programs we have, because time is of the essence because wala na silang pera,” he added.
He added that with the rise of the reported damage to more than a billion, Sagarbarria estimated that this would affect the price of common crops due to limited supply.
Sagarbarria said that it may not be felt by the Negrense, however, this will be seen in its export to other regions.
“So we hope with this augmentation, ang ating farmers will be alleviated and they have food on their table,” Sagarbarria said.
Before the provincial government had declared the state of calamity, three local government units -- Bayawan City, Sta. Catalina, and Mabinay -- were declared under state of calamity in April due to El Niño.
It prompted the provincial government to follow suit under the recommendations of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office.
The provincial government set aside P52 million as Quick Response Fund (QRF) to combat the effects of the El Niño phenomenon. (EHP)