PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., promised that the government will continue to find ways to improve the quality of life of farmers, as well as increase the productivity level of the agricultural sector.
The President made the statement during the ceremonial distribution of rice and other aid at the General Trias Sports Park, Barangay Santiago, General Trias City in Cavite on Friday morning.
President Marcos insisted that the Department of Agriculture (DA) is preparing plans to empower farmer groups in rice processing.
“We need to do all of that, including assisting cooperatives and associations with processing so that they can handle the processing and sell rice instead of just selling paddy, which will yield higher profits for them,” according to President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.
Marcos also mentioned the new buying price range imposed for the purchase of rice from local farmers, which will help them earn more from their products.
PBBM, underscores importance of strict measures vs illegal importation of agri products
The President also emphasized the government’s efforts to address the problem of illegal hoarders and smugglers of agricultural products.
Marcos insisted that it is still necessary to tighten the vigilance on the illegal importation of all agri products.
That’s why he gave a directive to the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to investigate carefully and continue to look for illegal importers and smugglers of rice.
‘‘Now, that’s what happened and has been investigated. There are many cases. Perhaps you have heard that many have been caught, many have been observed, and smugglers have been somewhat deterred. Of course, it’s still being monitored closely, but we’re keeping a vigilant eye on it,’’ President Marcos added.
PBBM, distributes 1,200 sacks of rice, other aid to 4Ps, farmers in General Trias, Cavite
The President also distributed 1,200 sacks of rice to the beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) in the province.
The distributed rice is still part of 42,180 sacks of smuggled rice worth P42-M confiscated by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) in Zamboanga City.
The seized smuggled rice was eventually handed over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) after the importers failed to comply with the legal documents from the BOC.
Aside from rice, President Marcos also led the provision of various assistance from the Department of Agriculture (DA) which includes rice, vegetable seeds, fertilizers, grass-cutters, hydroponic kits, and others to farmers in the City of General Trias.
‘‘That’s why we’re here, I just inspected. We also provide aid for various cooperatives and we promote what we call biofertilizer,’’ President Marcos stated.
Further, the Chief Executive distributed P1,577,000 worth of the aforementioned assistance from the Department of Agriculture (DA) to at least 217 farmers and other beneficiaries who gathered at the General Trias Sports Park.
President Marcos Jr. also provided aid under the Developmental Agriculture (DA) in the Village Rice Production Program of the DA, as well as aid from the Corn Production Program.
Moreover, assistance under the High-Value Crops Development Program (HVCDP) and the National Urban and Peri-Urban Program was provided.
