LANAO del Norte provincial government on Tuesday received agricultural interventions worth P6.3 million from the northern Mindanao Agriculture department, said in a press statement Friday.
DA-RFO 10 regional executive director Carlene C. Collado formally handed over to Lanao del Norte government the P4.8 million fully operational seeds warehouse and P1.5 million drone sprayer on October 27, 2020.
Collado said the construction of the warehouse and the drone sprayer are funded under the DA’s National Rice Program.
Granting of the drone sprayer is part of DA-10’s farm modernization projects in the region, according to Collado.
He said the sprayer is useful in automating fertilizer application in rice fields at 5-10 minutes per hectare field capacity.
The intervention is a pilot project of DA-10 in Lanao del Norte, subject to cost-efficiency assessment and feedback from the recipients before widespread implementation.
Meanwhile, the 300-square meter warehouse rises inside Lanao del Norte’s Provincial Nursery and Seeds Farm (PNSF) in Kapatagan town with a storage capacity of 306 metric tons.
Collado added that the warehouse is strategically situated and accessible to the municipalities of Sultan Naga Dimaporo, Lala, Sapad, Tubod, Baroy, Nunungan, Salvador and Baroy.
It will be utilized to shelter DA-granted farm equipment, farm inputs such fertilizers and seeds, and harvested palay of bonafide farmers in the province, according Collado.
The warehouse will also serve as field office of the province’s Agricultural Technicians (ATs) and Agricultural Extension Workers (AEWs).
Collado in his message, commends the Provincial Government of Lanao del Norte in its effort of helping the rice farmers in the province by buying their produce at a higher rate, amid the plunging palay farmgate price.
He urged the Provincial Agriculture Office to propose for the establishment of more and bigger rice mills in the province, enabling the province to independently produce its own market and consumption-ready rice supply.
“As the national winner of the Rice Achiever Awards, Lanao del Norte should continually strive to upscale its rice production programs,” said Collado.
You need to pinpoint the agricultural assistance needed by our farmers, especially in this pandemic, said Collado.
“Propose the desired projects, so that we will be able to allocate the required funding,” Collado said to the local agriculturists.
“We need to stay active in mobilizing assistance needed by our farmers amid the uncertainties of this crisis. We need to ensure food security,” said Collado.
Lanao del Norte provincial agriculturist Letecia G. Ditucalan said the warehouse will be optimally utilized to secure the farmers’ seeds, that provide proper storage facility.
“We are grateful to DA-10 for granting us this project,” said Ditucalan, adding that they dream of the facility to resemble DA-10’s research center.
The construction of this warehouse is a step closer to that dream, according to Ditucalan.
In 2021, Lanao del Norte will be granted another agri infrastructure project from DA-10 for the construction of a P10 million Cold Storage in Lala, Lanao del Norte.
“This facility is of great help in protecting our farmers’ seeds, machineries and equipment,” said DA-10’s Field Operations Division OIC-Chief Audy G. Maagad.
Maagad said to help solve the farmers’ problems they need to think outside the box, work together, and go the extra mile in serving the farm sector. (Angie Cabig/Azbie Talib/DA-10)
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