For Visayas typhoon victims M/V DA-BFAR MAKES 2nd VOYAGE LOADED WITH RICE, CORN SEEDS

By Manny Piñol

Help for farmers affected by the twin typhoons which hit the country before the end of the year continued to be delivered as the M/V DA-BFAR, the Marine Research Ship of the Dept. of Agriculture which has been converted into a cargo vessel, made a second voyage loaded yesterday with 2,500 bags of seeds intended for Eastern Visayas.

DA Region III Director Roy Abaya reported that the new shipment of seeds which came from Luzon and loaded to the M/V DA-BFAR in the Subic Port is intended for the provinces Samar, Leyte and Biliran.

This is the second voyage of the research ship which made its first run during the Christmas holidays to deliver seeds, relief goods and fishing equipment to Northern Mindanao and reached the Port of Dapitan on Jan. 2.

Undersecretary Eduardo Gongona, national director of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, said BFAR vessels will continue to sail until all relief and rehabilitation supplies to the typhoon devastated areas are delivered.

BFAR is also set to deliver this week 20 units of fiberglass fishing boats to the fishermen of Anungan, Sibuco, Zamboanga del Norte whose houses and fishing boats were swept to the sea by flash floods from the mountains of Zamboanga del Norte at the height of Typhoon Vinta on Dec. 22.

The remaining 15 units, to complete the 35 units committed to the area, will be delivered next week.

The Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC), an attached agency of the Agriculture Department, has been directed to release the remaining insurance payments for farmers and fishermen whose crops and properties were destroyed by the typhoons.

PCIC President Jovy Bernabe earlier announced that the maximum processing time for insurance payments has now been set at 20 days after the calamity.

This would assist farmers and fisher folks to be able to recover immediately.

Insurance payments in the past would take months of processing before these are released, a practice which has been corrected under the administration of President Rody Duterte.

The Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) will also conduct next week orientation workshops and accreditation for farmers who will avail of the Production Loan Easy Access (PLEA) Program and the Equipment and Machineries Loan Program of the government.

The PLEA Program provides credit access to farmers for production with no collateral and only 6% interest per annum with a maximum loanable amount of P50,000.

The Equipment and Machineries Loan Program, on the other hand, provides loans to reliable farmers organizations or cooperatives for them to acquire farm machineries like tractors, rice transplanters, combine harvesters, dryers and even rice mills and storage facilities.

Farmers organizations and cooperatives could borrow up to P50-M for the farm equipment and machineries at 2% interest per annum.

Given priority in the granting of these credit programs are areas which were adversely affected by typhoons and other calamities.

#ServiceMeansNoHolidays! #Changeishere! #PresRodyCares! #DuterteDelivers!

(Photos of the loading of the seeds from Luzon into M/V DA-BFAR in Subic Port submitted by DA-RAFID III.)