InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga -- The provincial government has urged the National Food Authority (NFA) to consider establishing palay buying stations in the strategic areas of the province to assist farmers in marketing their produce especially this coming rainy season. Governor Lilia Pineda said that she would like to assure the farmers that they were exhausting all possible strategies to further increase their income and food production in the province. Pineda also reiterated that the development of agriculture is one of the priority thrusts of her administration. In fact, she said that last year, some 12,000 bags of certified seeds worth P14 million were distributed to farmers in various municipalities of the province. Records show that of the total agricultural area of the province, 53,644 hectares are planted with rice, 11,433 hectares with corn and 2,622 hectares with vegetables. About 6,536 hectares are devoted to orchard while 34,466 hectares are fishponds. More than 32,000 individuals in the province are rice farmers who reported a total of 4,562,400 cavans of palay harvested last planting season. It can be be noted that earlier, Mayor Jerry Pelayo asked NFA Administrator Lito Banayo to authorize the municipality of Candaba to establish a palay buying stations. Initial reports have it that only local traders are getting benefit at the expense of the farmers.
With this, Pelayo said the farmers were left with no choice but to sell the palay to these traders.
OTHER NATIONAL STORIES
