Guv Guico Significant Supports to Farmers Nix Critics

 By Mortz C. Oritigoza

Records from the provincial government could prove wrong those acerbic critics from the media that the administration of Pangasinan Government Ramon V. Guico, III was insensitive to the plight of his farmers’ constituents.

Since assuming office in June 30, 2022, the governor and local officials of the huge province have been strategizing various initiatives to boost the stocks and competitiveness of farmers through medium and long-term projects.

PRIORITY. Pangasinan Governor Ramon V. Guico, III (standing) exhorts the farmers in Urbiztondo, Pangasinan on the first Farmers’ Fest of the rustic town held on December 27, 2023. The governor told them that one of the priority programs of his administration is to boost the agriculture sector in the province.

According to the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPAg) under Ms. Dalisay Moya, OPAg regularly provides technical assistance and technology transfer skills training and livelihood assistance for farmers and fishermen.

“Skills training on crops and fishery production, food processing, packaging and technologies, institutional and entrepreneurial are held to equip farmers with modern and appropriate technology and enhance their management and marketing skills preparing them to become agri-preneurs. increase production yield and income of farmers,” excerpt from the news article’s Gov. 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗼 R𝗲𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 Pledge 𝘁𝗼 A𝗴𝗿𝗶-S𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 T𝗵𝗿𝘂 M𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘂𝗺, L𝗼𝗻𝗴-T𝗲𝗿𝗺 P𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 published by the Public Information Office of the Guico Administration.

It added that Guico distributed significant amount of high quality palay and corn seeds as well as other production inputs such as fertilizers, insecticides and pesticides to the farmers.

The provincial government also distributed 83 hand tractors and 10 units of axial flow pump to various farmers and fishermen associations and vegetable growers.

Not to mention the lobbies of the Guico Administration to the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) that supplied pump and engine sets to 70 associations in Pangasinan and the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in June last year that gave agricultural equipment worth P42.4 million to 13,609 farmer-members from 109 agrarian reform beneficiary organizations in the province to enhance the farm mechanization in Pangasinan.

Corporate farming program, the flagship program of the governor, was introduced in the latter part of 2022, primordially to enhance Pangasinan’s food production and transform farming into a profitable economic enterprise.

Under this program are major projects to include rice production, corn production and high value crops production.

Utilizing the “convergence approach or strategy,” program partners which include private entities, were tapped to collectively address the gaps in the food value chain thru farm consolidation leading to corporate farming.

Guico is set to ink a partnership with Bounty Cares Foundation, Inc. (BCFI) for the implementation of the project which is focused on sustainable corn industry development.

Made official through a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to be signed by both parties, the BCFI, which is a non-stock and non-profit corporation, has expressed its intent to support the Pangasinan Corporate Farming Project launched by the present administration.

According to a resolution authored by provincial legislative member Nicholi Jan Louie Sison that was approved on December 4, 2023 by the august body, agriculture is the primary industry of Pangasinan thus programs and projects that redound to the benefit of the farmers are of vital importance.
Under the agreement, the BCFI will not only donate the organic fertilizer requirements of the farmer cooperators of Pangasinan Corporate Farming towards sustainable corn industry development but will likewise buy the production of the corn farmers.

Meanwhile, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was executed between the governor and the Rice-to-Rise Program of TAO Foods Company, Inc., to venture in “contract growing” with farmers’ associations; financing institutions’ resources to provide financing needs; and agricultural supplies entities’ network to supply farm inputs at minimal costs.

Initial inputs were provided to farmer cooperatives such as organic and inorganic fertilizers and pesticides and agro chemicals. Presently, there are 163 hectares that have been established with some 173 farmer-cooperatives.