Apayao province receives P100-M farm assistance

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Agriculture (DA) has allotted P100 million for Apayao as it focuses on the country’s top 10 poorest provinces in line with the Duterte administration’s thrust to boost food production and alleviate poverty.

The budget will go to different livelihood programs of Apayao.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said P50 million could be used for the remaining months of the year while the other half would be utilized for the first semester of 2017.

Through a strategy called Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD), Piñol said the DA would look at the weaknesses of an area, its potentials in food production, and provide livelihood programs.

The Philippine Statistics Authority  has identified the top 10 poorest areas with the highest Poverty Incidence Per Family (PIPF). The Apayao province ranked third with a poverty rate of 54.7 percent.

“A SAAD Project Management Team will be established to be composed both of technical people from the DA and the province and together, they will identify the problems confronting the area and find solutions to address these,” Piñol said.

Piñol encouraged the local officials to come up with provincial ordinances to transform Apayao into an agro-tourism site.

The province has over 35,000 hectares of agricultural land devoted to rice, corn, cassava, banana and coffee production.

“We can open up the opportunities of the provinces, if we open the transportation and tourism sectors. Our new paradigm in DA is to provide options and leave the planning to you,” he said.

Meanwhile, other provinces with the highest rate of poverty include Lanao del Sur (67.3 percent), Eastern Samar (55.4 percent), Maguindanao (54.5 percent), Zamboanga del Norte (48 percent), Saranggani (46 percent), North Cotabato (44.8 percent), Negros Oriental (43.9 percent), and Northern and Western Samar (43.5 percent each).