P'sinan farmers get palay seeds, tilapia fingerlings

STA. BARBARA, Pangasinan, Philippines – To further boost rice production and strengthen aquaculture in the province, certified palay seeds and tilapia fingerlings were distributed to farmers and other beneficiaries at the provincial nursery in Barangay Tebag here last Thursday.

Gov. Amado Espino Jr. led the distribution along with Valentino Perdido, acting regional director of the Department of Agriculture (DA); engineer Rosendo So, founding chairman of the Abono party-list group; and other officials.           

The distribution of more than 8,700 cavans of certified palay seeds is part of the second phase of the Accelerated Certified Seed Production and Distribution Project of the provincial government, the DA, National Seed Quality Control Services, and the Abono party-list group.

Espino, himself a farmer, encouraged palay growers to work hard and not just rely on government assistance.

Espino said he is optimistic that Pangasinan farmers can produce at least 200 cavans of palay per hectare.

He said the near-completion of the re-regulating pond at the San Roque multi-purpose dam will help irrigate some 20,000 hectares of farmlands in central Pangasinan.

Espino said he would ask farmers to produce the same rice variety for export to be milled and packed at the rice processing complex here.

Ponciano Onia, president of Abono party-list, said this accelerated program was started in 2010 by Espino and Abono Rep. Robert Raymund Estrella wherein certified seeds were planted in 25 hectares of land in Asingan town by seed grower cooperators which in turn produced 2,500 cavans of certified seeds that were distributed the following year.

With the success of the first phase, each town and city was given 150 cavans of certified seeds.

The provincial government gave P2.5 million for the project while the DA regional office contributed P4 million and the Abono party-list P2 million, for a total of P8.5 million bankrolling the project.

Aside from seed production, Onia said part of the funds from the province was used in training farmers to become certified seed growers.

Meanwhile, some 400,000 tilapia fingerlings were also distributed to different local government units and farmers’ organizations to be dispersed in 37 communal bodies of water across the province.

The fingerlings were produced in breeding stations run by the provincial government.