Bontoc, Mountain Province – Eighty-two farmers from the ALBAGO Zone (Barangays AlabOriente, Alab Proper, Balili and Gonogon) in this municipality received complete packages of fertilizers from the Bontoc Local Government Unit (LGU) through the Office of the Municipal Agriculturist (OMAg) and the Department of Agriculture-Cordillera Administrative Region (DA-CAR) on August 01, 2024, at the Municipal Capitol.
This effort is part of the Digitalized Distribution of Rice Program Interventions, which utilizes the Intervention Monitoring Card (IMC), supplied Biofertilizers and inorganic fertilizers for rice. Eligible farmers, registered under the Registry System for the Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA), must have agricultural lands of at least 1,000 square meters. The program also allows recipients to choose between complete or urea inorganic fertilizers. The quantities of both Bio-N and inorganic fertilizers are determined by the land area reported by the farmers.
Municipal Government Assistant Department Head Catherine Agconof OMAG, highlighted that this initiative by the Bontoc LGU and DA-CAR is a follow-up intervention to the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) program as the recipients have been provided with bags of certified palay seeds earlier this year, in the months of May and June. This initiative aims to ensure that the planted crops receive adequate care to achieve full and healthy growth.
It is to be noted that the DA has introduced new modalities this year in the distribution of interventions to Cordillera rice farmers through the use of IMC, transitioning from the voucher system. This digitalization process allows merchants and suppliers, in collaboration with the service providers, to prioritize the preferences of the farmers for rice seeds and fertilizer assistance. For this digitalized distribution of fertilizers intervention, the participating merchant is the Tay-og Farm Supply.
Bontoc Mayor Jerome “Chagsen” Tudlong, Jr., extended his gratitude to the DA and the supplier. He also commended the hardworking rice farmers from ALBAGO Zone and expressed hope for abundant harvests in the cropping seasons.
Mayor Tudlong emphasized that achieving rice sufficiency while improving the livelihood of local farmers is a key priority of one of the four pillars of his roadmap, “ENLANGAKHA: Achieving the Vision for A Dynamic Bontoc.”**Shannon Anthea S. Pagaduan, Bontoc LGU
