Governor Arthur Defensor on Thursday assured the provincial government is prepared to assist Iloilo farmers affected by the El Niño phenomenon.
“We are prepared to give input assistance that we can source from our disaster funds. But one of our measures, because El N Niño means a reduction of water, we are prepared to add to our small-scale irrigation projects, and we have a budget for that already,” Defensor said in a media briefing.
“And instead of giving cash assistance, we help secure insurance for our qualified farmers so that when they are hit, they get the benefit of the insurance policy of the government, which is bigger,” he added.
The governor said the province’s measures are contained in the agriculture and fisheries extension program.
Among them is the 2023-2024 Agriculture and Fisheries Mitigation Programs and Rehabilitation Plan that allotted PHP15 million for Sustainable Insurance from the Government for Upscaling and Revitalizing the Agri-fishery Development and Opportunities (SIGURADO).
He said that farmers listed with the Registry System for the Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) have already been assured of insurance, so SIGURADO will cover those not enrolled with the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC).
The implementation of the SIGURADO program will start this year, Defensor said.
P100-M initial damages
In the meantime, the Iloilo Provincial Agriculture Office is validating the drought damage report of eight municipalities covering 2,586.30 hectares with an estimated cost of around PHP100 million.
“We don’t have yet the exact figure because this is a work in progress. The effects of the El Niño are also progressive so we are waiting for more reports,” said Provincial Agriculturist Ildefonso Toledo in his report to Defensor.
He added they are also validating the reports coming from the municipalities of Tigbauan, Oton, Tubungan, Anilao, San Enrique, Cabatuan, Barotac Nuevo, and Miag-ao.
The partial report showed that 188.21 hectares of the 7,662.73 hectares with standing crops from the eight towns are totally damaged, and 2,398.09 hectares are partially damaged. (PNA)
