TACLOBAN CITY—More than three years after Supertyphoon Yolanda (international code name Haiyan) destroyed the facilities of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in Eastern Visayas, repairs for the damaged experiment stations can already start after funds finally came.
DA Regional Director U-Nichols Manalo said a total of P173,833,078 was allocated to the region to restore office and its experiment stations. The funds, released last December 12, came from the Yolanda Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Program (YRRP) 2016.
Manalo said the immediate repair of damaged experiment stations is very important, because this is where research and development to improve agriculture productivity are being conducted. It is also in these stations where technologies are developed and are allowed to mature before these are promoted to farmers and other clientele.
There are five experiment stations in Eastern Visayas, three of them in the towns of Babatngon, San Miguel and Abuyog in Leyte. One experiment station is in Eastern Samar, the Salcedo Crop and Livestock Experiment Station in the town of Salcedo, and the other one is the San Jorge Experiment Station in Samar.
Recently, a team of engineers, architects and information staff from the DA regional office visited the stations to conduct ocular inspections, prevalidations and documentations of all the facilities under rehab.
Manalo said the bulk of the allocated fund for each station will be used in rehabilitating its building complex and training halls, perimeter fences and gates, staff houses, irrigation systems and the stations’ road networks that are deemed necessary because of the detriments it may cause, especially during rainy season.
Rehabilitation work in these stations have already started, as well as repairs and improvement of its office building. The DA has also started the rehabilitation of the Animal and Plant Quarantine Services Building and the office’s guesthouse. The total project cost reached P42,871,467.49.
Manalo said the allocated budget from YRRP also included funds for procuring various farm inputs such as seeds and fertilizers, as well as machineries for corn and cassava, floating tillers, hand tractors, and UV films.
Manado said the budget of the DA Research Stations comes from the different programs of the DA with research and development activities.
“They also received regular funds but it’s mainly for the operations and maintenance and it is very limited,” he said in an interview. “Fortunately for Eastern Visayas, the Yolanda Rehab funds released last December 12 included the repair and upgrading of the research stations.”