Palawan gets P42 M farm machineries from DA

MANILA, Philippines - A total of P42-million worth of farm machineries and agricultural goods were given to Palawan province by Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala last week.

During a farmer’s forum held at the municipal gymnasium of Aborlan, Palawan, Alcala distributed the farm implements and goods which he said was part of the agriculture department’s aim to enhance farm and livestock production, with the goal of achieving rice and food sufficiency for the country.

Distributed to farmers’ associations and local government units were agricultural equipment such as dryers, tractors, threshers, knapsack sprayers, greenhouses, draft animals, cashew shelling machines and planting materials.

Two agricultural-based cooperatives received P3-million grant for the village-type corn post-harvest processing centers to be situated in the towns of Narra and Sofronio Espaniola.

The lone individual recipient was Virginia Dureza of Brooke’s Point town, who received a unit of wood vinegar chamber and hand tractor worth P65,500. Dureza is a national runner-up in the Search for Outstanding Rural Woman of the Department of Agriculture (DA).

Also last week, Alcala inaugurated aquaculture projects of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources at the Sta. Lucia Environmental Estate in Puerto Princesa City.

The agriculture chief also inaugurated the Iwahig-Balsahan dam gate in Puerto Princesa City and launched the construction of the Ibato-Iraan Small Reservoir Irrigation Project of the National Irrigation Administration in Palawan.