Odiongan, Romblon (July 27 -late post) – Farmers and fisher folks of the different islands of the province of Romblon, known for ages as the source of quality marble, trooped to the capital town of Odiongan on Thursday, July 27, for what local officials called a historic first ever visit by an Agriculture Secretary.
“Many more would have come were it not for the big waves,” Romblon Governor Eduardo Firmalo told me during the Biyaheng Bukid Farmers and Fisher Folks Face to Face forum Thursday morning in the Odiongan town gymnasium.
When I arrived after a two-hour ferry ride from Roxas, Mindoro Oriental Wednesday night, Typhoon Gorio was lashing the northern part of Luzon bringing rains to the peripheries, including the MIMAROPA areas (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan).
The big waves notwithstanding, at least 500 farmers and fisher folks came to meet the Agriculture Secretary and savoured every minute of the farmer’s forum from 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
(I had to pack up and leave before 11 a.m. so I could catch the 2 Go boat for the seven hour sail from Odiongan to Batangas and be back in Manila in time for the opening of the TienDA Farmers and Fisherfolks Outlet July 28.)
In the two-hour open forum attended by the Governor and at least six town mayors, I was able to address the problems and concerns presented by the farmers and fisher folks.
Among the biggest commitments I made was a loaning program for the province’s rice farmers so they could produce enough for the needs of the residents.
Gov. Firmalo told me that Romblon, with a population of about 250,000, buys from nearby Mindoro Island the greater part of the residents’ rice consumption.
While the province has about 3,500 hectares of irrigated rice farming areas, the average yield is so low that it could hardly supply even just half of the requirements of the islands.
I saw the rice farms along the road and I immediately understood why the production is so low.
The rice paddies were full of weeds and the farming system is very primitive. Judging by the growth of the standing crops, there was hardly any fertilisation for the fields.
When the farmers said they liked to learn how to grow hybrid rice varieties, I committed to send rice experts from PhilRice and provide a loan fund of P50-million for their hybrid rice production program for 2018.
The target is to produce at least three quarters of the volume of rice needed by the province so that Mindoro Island’s excess production could further contribute to the national rice supply.
Another concern presented was the lack of support to develop the province’s potentials for fisheries and aqua-marine production.
With so much water surrounding the islands of the province, there was very little progress in the fisheries area.
While Tuna is reported to be plentiful in the waters of the province, local fishermen are still asking how they could catch the valuable fish outside of the traditional hook and line.
The provincial-funded Bangus hatcheries worth over P25-million pesos only had 12 “Sabalos” or Mother Milkfish and whatever fry were produced were just thrown to the sea because there is no facility to raise the fry to become fingerlings.
At the end of the short activity, fiberglass fishing boats and fishing equipment were distributed under the FB Pagbabago program which aims to distribute at least 40,000 units over the next five years.
Farm equipment and machineries were also distributed.
When I and the Biyaheng Bukid team, including Fisheries Undersecretary Eduardo Gongona, left for the Odiongan port for the long voyage back to Manila, I saw smiling faces of farmers and fisher folks who for the first time were able to share their dreams with top officials of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.
I left with a lesson that I will keep in my mind: The Philippines is endowed with so much resources which could feed the country’s population.
All that is needed is to discover these potentials, reach out to the people in the remote areas and teach them how to make use of God’s blessings to feed humanity and lift themselves out of poverty.
(Photos by Alan Jay Jacalan and Mayette Tudlas)
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