DAVAO CITY—The Department of Agriculture (DA) said it is ready to distribute 73,011 bags of certified palay seeds and corn seeds to farmers in the Cotabato provinces.
DA Regional Director Amalia Jayag-Datukan said the distribution of certified seeds, worth nearly P100 million, is one of the interventions of the government to help farmers prior to the onset of the wet cropping season.
“Since we are already experiencing rains throughout the region, these farmers should immediately receive assistance from the DA after the onslaught of El Niño,” Datukan said.
A total of 52,534 bags of high-yielding and certified rice seeds amounting to P71.4 million will be given to farmers in the Soccsksargen region, composed of South Cotabato, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos City. The DA gave the biggest seed allocation to North Cotabato at 26,014 bags. Sultan Kudarat will get 19,164 bags; South Cotabato, 5,635 bags; and Sarangani, 1,721 bags.
The government is providing 20,477 bags of hybrid and open-pollinated corn seeds to farmers worth P28.03 million. The figure was based on the production areas of provinces and the damage caused by the dry spell.
Corn farmers in North Cotabato will get 5,564 bags; South Cotabato, 5,548 bags; Sultan Kudarat, 4,498 bags; and Sarangani, 4, 897 bags. Datukan said the certified rice and corn seeds were procured using the DA’s regular program funds and quick-response funds from the central office and regional office.
Ray Embajador, operations head of the DA Regional Field Office told a workshop-meeting of the provincial and municipal agriculturists last week that the distribution of the seeds would start on May 11.
“We also discussed with our LGU [local government unit]counterparts the guidelines for distribution of seeds to ensure that it follows the right process and priority farmer-beneficiaries get their share,” Embajador said.
The local governments would also be asked to submit requirements, such as a master list of farmer-beneficiaries.
Datukan said rice and corn growers in El Niño-hit areas would be first to receive the seeds. She said the DA office would coordinate with the local agriculture offices to ensure that those mostly affected farmers, as per LGUs’ identification and submission, will be the priority recipients of the assistance.