The Biyaheng Bukid sortie to the province of Bataan, one of the very few Luzon Provinces which went all-out for President Rody Duterte in the last elections, was moved, postponed and deferred several times.
But when it finally happened on Tuesday afternoon, the leaders, farmers and fisher folks of the province led by its young Governor Albert Garcia realised that Duterte does not forget and Duterte Delivers.
A package of support and interventions amounting to about P400-million was delivered by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries during a simple occasion which marked the Farmers’ Forum of Biyaheng Bukid in Mariveles, Bataan.
The support came in the form of approved farm-to-market road projects under the Philippine Rural Development Program (PRDP), an ice-making and cold storage facility in Barangay Batangas Dos, Limay town, tractors, fishing boats and a loaning facility under the Production Loan Easy Access (PLEA) of P100-million.
Bataan Governor Garcia also received a commitment of support for his vision to plant more trees in the deforested mountains of his province to ensure sustainable agriculture.
In my message delivered during the forum, I informed the people of Bataan that the Agriculture Department has adopted tree farming as an agricultural activity to support the reforestation program of the national government and ensure sustainable agriculture through the protection and preservation of water sources.
I also assured the officials, farmers and fisher folks of Bataan of the Department’s commitment to ensure that the province will have enough food supply to avert inflation.
Bataan is a very unique province. With a poverty incidence of only about 4%, one of the lowest in the country, the problem of the farmers and fisher folks is not where to sell their produce but how to produce more so that the prices of commodities would not soar to very high levels and cause inflation.
In my conversation with Gov. Garcia, I suggested that Bataan adopt a food production program which would target the specific food requirements of the people in the province.
The organisation of the rice farmers into one very strong cooperative or association which would be supported by the Department with equipment, milling and processing facilities to supply the rice needs of workers of the corporations operating in Bataan was an idea which I presented to Gov. Garcia.
Fisher folks of Bataan who complained of the encroachment of big fishing boats in their fishing grounds were also given support by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources with patrol boats.
A total of 250 fiberglass fishing boats was committed to the fisher folks of Bataan.
When I left the place where the forum was conducted, I received a smacking kiss on my face from an elderly woman, leaving a lipstick mark.
People, including Gov. Garcia, laughed a lot but I appreciated the kiss, never mind if it came from an elderly woman.
For me, it was a sign of how much the people of Bataan appreciated the interventions delivered by the Duterte Government.
As they say, save the best for last.
Bataan may be one of the last provinces that I visited before the Duterte Presidency marks its first year but it certainly received more than its people expected.
(Photos by Alan Jay Jacalan, DA AFID and Mayette Tudlas, DA OSEC.)
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