By By Donna Rempillo
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga- The Department of Agriculture in Central Luzon’s initiative on the agribusiness sector had yielded an amount of Php 432,190 equivalent to 125.1 metric tons of squash which the department had linked from the farmers to the market.
”Initiated by our Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Division, this aims to help farmer-producers in selling their crops directly to the consumers amid the difficulty in global food systems during this coronavirus disease pandemic,” DA Regional Director Crispulo Bautista Jr. said.
The beneficiaries include farmers and direct buyers such as: Crisencio Marcos from Zaragoza, Nueva Ecija to Carol Pasqual-Lopez; Eugenia Ramirez of Talavera, Nueva Ecija to Duran Farm; L. Sanchez Farm of San Ildefonso, Bulacan to Alagang Kapatid Foundation Inc.; Divina Gracia of Zaragoza, Nueva Ecija to municipal government of Plaridel in Bulacan and Ateneo De Manila University; and the city government of San Jose and municipal government of Rizal in Nueva Ecija to L. Sanchez Farm.
Other linked by the department were Soccoro Pangilinan of Zaragoza, Nueva Ecija to Carmela Oracion; various squash producers of Zaragoza, Nueva Ecija to Carol Pasqual-Lopez; various squash producers of Zaragoza, Nueva Ecija to Carmela Oracion; and producer from Aliaga, Nueva Ecija to Ace Estrada.
Bautista assures farming commodities and other essentials will not be hampered throughout the region. Recently, DA and Philippine National Police Region 3 had signed a memorandum of understanding on Food highway project.
The conceptualized project is a result of measures and restrictions that have been implemented during enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), as is the PNP creating an express lane to secure transport of produced goods from local farmers to LGU buyers and the National Capital Region.
With the projects laid to benefit the producers and consumers, the DA and PNP ensures a seamless coordination with each other in the provision that all will follow the IATF guidelines on any raised community quarantine.
For more information, visit the Department of Agriculture.
