Down but not Out!

BATTERED POULTRY GROWERS

RECEIVE INSURANCE, SUPPORT

By Manny Piñol

Gappal, Cauayan City – Typhoon battered poultry growers and farmers of Isabela received an assurance yesterday that they will be able to recover part of their losses due to Typhoon Rosita with the help of the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation, an agency under the Department of Agriculture.

During a visit I made in a poultry farm in this farming village yesterday, I felt the frustrations of farmers as poultry houses were flattened and corn crops were damaged by the recent typhoon.

Acting on the directives of President Rody Duterte during his visit to this city on Nov. 2, I met with the poultry growers and farmers in the city.

Among the commitments made by the DA were:

1. Insurance coverage for all farmers affected by the typhoon who are not listed in the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture RSBSA) and partial coverage for those not listed in the RSBSA provided the damage claims are certified by the Municipal Agriculturists and validated by the PCIC;

2. Full insurance coverage of P90 per head of chicken for future damages caused by natural calamities, including outbreak of diseases, for poultry farms with an insurance premium of only P1 per chicken per cycle. RSBSA members will get automatic coverage;

3. A P5-million loan from the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) as working capital to operate a local feed mill to bring down the cost of production;

4. A P3-M loan portfolio for the acquisition of cold storage facilities to be owned and operated by small independent poultry growers;

5. Opening of TienDA Malasakit Stores in the four cities in the Cagayan Valley Region where dressed chicken could be directly sold by the farmers at prices lower than in the wet markets.

When I left the venue of the caucus at about 1 p.m. yesterday to fly to Sta. Teresita, Cagayan to meet with Gov. Manuel Mamba, the poultry growers and farmers continued their dialogue with the PCIC and the ACPC.

I made a promise to come back for the opening of the TienDA Malasakit Stores before the end of November.

The poultry growers and farmers may have been knocked down by Typhoons Ompong and Rosita but with government support, they will certainly get back on their feet and prevail.

#FulfillingPresidentialPromises!

#KungGustoMaramingParaan!

#Changeishere!

(Video and photos were taken by Mayette Tudlas)