Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Pres. Aquino Turns-over Farm Implements to LGUs in Caraga


by: Aurell P. Arais

Butuan City – His Excellency President Benigno Simeon Aquino III turned-over various farm machineries and inputs to four provinces and one city in Caraga region that was recently ravaged by flood during his visit last January 14, 2011 at Bancasi Airpot, this city.

Together with DA Caraga Regional Director Reinerio B. Belarmino, Jr., President Aquino handed the certificates of turn-over to Butuan City through City Mayor Ferdinand Amante, Jr., Province of Agusan del Norte received by Governor Erlpe John Amante, Agusan del Sur through Governor Adolph Edward Plaza, Surigao del Sur through Governor Johnny Pimentel and Surigao del Norte through Vice Governor Arturo Carlos Egay.

Each recipient local government unit received the agricultural inputs that include three pump and engine sets, 200 bags of certified seeds and two boxes assorted vegetable seeds.

The said inputs will augment the effort of each LGU to help its constituent particularly farmers to start anew after affected by flood.

Aside from agricultural inputs, the president also turned over medicines and relief goods.

Aquino visited Caraga Region to see for himself the extent of damaged brought by the recent flood. However, due to limited time the president just stay at the closed door presidential briefing done by the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council at Civil Aviation Authority Office at Bancasi Airport.

Based on the said presidential briefing presented by Regional Director Blanche Gobenciong of the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) Caraga, the damaged done by recent flood on the agriculture sector are the following: cereal crops which are rice and corn has a total estimated cost of P72,493,282.00; for other crop like vegetables, banana, rootcrops, including all other crops which are not cereal crops the total estimated cost of damaged was P14,806,543.00.

In livestock the total value of losses reached to P3,426,710.00 while on fisheries the total value of losses recorded P16,725,000.00 and in irrigation system the cost of damaged was P58 million.

Agusan del Sur is the hardest hit in terms of damaged to agriculture with an estimated cost of P105,595,224.00 followed by Agusan del Norte with P27,850,186.00; Surigao del Sur recorded 21,327,350.00; Surigao del Norte reached to P10,501,875.00 and Dinagat Islands recorded P346,100.00.

In summary as per OCD report, the cost of damage to agriculture in the whole region reached to P165,620,535.00. (Aurell P. Arais/RAFID DA CARAGA)


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