Antique farmers and fisherfolk expressed gratitude as they received more than PHP200 million worth of projects, including a Rice Processing Center (RPC) inaugurated by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Monday.

The project is one of the three state-of-the-art projects of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in Western Visayas equipped with a multi-storage rice mill and mechanical dryers, funded by the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech).

The others are in Patnongon, also in Antique, and in Tigbauan, Iloilo.

DA provided the warehouse/building and other equipment components, including the hauling truck, forklift, weighing scale and moisture meter.

“One big impact of this RPC is the ready market for rice farmers with a good price,” said DA Western Visayas Regional Technical Director for Operations and Extension Maria Teresa Solis in an interview.

She said the Hamtic Multi-purpose Cooperative, the owner of the project, was granted a PHP1.5 million trading capital by the DA.

The center will purchase palay from local farmers at a price that is PHP1 or PHP2 higher than the offer of private traders.

“Farmers will also receive a patronage refund at the end of the year as they will become automatic members of the cooperative,” Solis said.

Erlinda Ricarze, president of the Hamtic Bongbongan I and Bongbongan II Hamtic Farmers Association, said the RPC is a big help because finding a market for their produce was a problem, especially for wet palay.

“We are thankful that President Marcos has come. We are excited to know what more he can give to help us farmers,” she said in dialect.

Hamtic MPC director Ruben Seballos said the project is expected to improve the economic status of farmers.

“More or less, they have a fixed source of income every harvest season. So, the well-being of the farmers is taken care of,” he said.

He added that their cooperative also holds trainings on comprehensive farming.

Through this, farmers can catch up with modern farming, enabling them to produce year-round, which translates to a continuous income.

“I am thankful to President Marcos because his projects for farmers benefit not only the sector but also the buyers, suppliers, everybody,” he said.

Mercedita Situbal, a farmer from Barangay Gen. Fullon in Hamtic, said it would be a big help if they could sell their produce at a higher price.

“It’s a big help, it’s very good. We won’t have difficulty because it is a big help,” she said in dialect, adding that they used to sell their palay produce as low as PHP10 to PHP17 a kilo.

President Marcos, in his message to the farmers, said the new facility will make work better and lighter for the farmers.

He said that nationwide, the government, through the Department of Agriculture, has already constructed 152 facilities, and they intend to build over 300 drying systems this year.

The president said he looked forward to seeing farmers no longer drying their palay on the road and being run over by trucks.

“That’s why we are slowly developing the whole system,” he said, adding that what farmers have to do is plant, take care and harvest.

The government will help them in post-harvest, including marketing.

“Pagtibayin natin ang agricultural sector para tayo ay nakakasiguro sa ating food supply (We will strengthen the agricultural sector to ensure our food supply),” he said.

Marcos also distributed PHP169.54 million for various DA projects; PHP482,213 for indemnity claims through the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp.; PHP770,000 worth of motorboats through the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources; PHP4.5 million through the Philippine Coconut Authority; PHP69.33 million from PhilMech; and PHP33.02 million through the Philippine Rice Research Institute. (PNA)