|
The
Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) yesterday did not waste time
in approving the release of P13,786,000 financial assistance
for rice farmers in the province.
This
after Gov. Erico Aumentado made an urgent request for the
lawmakers to fund the provincial government's Rice Accelerated
Enhancement Response (RACER) and the Bohol Seeds Assistance
Project (BSAP) for rice growers.
During
a press conference yesterday together with Manila and Cebu
based media at the Bohol Tropics Resort, Aumentado expressed
optimism that the approval of the palay subsidy to rice farmers
duly accredited by the National Irrigation Administration
(NIA) and the Department of Agriculture (DA) will raise the
rice sufficiency of the province to 100-percent by the end
of this year.
The
governor again defended his executive order regulating the
shipment of rice to traders in other provinces.
Aumentado
said Boholanos have to be assured that there is enough supply
of rice in the coming lean months as Bohol is only 82.5 percent
rice sufficient per Bureau of Agriculture Statistics (BAS)
data.
The
P13.786 million subsidy will be spread over palay growers
in some 15 municipalities, the governor said.
|
|
|
"The
[seed assistance] project is intended to make Bohol
self-sufficient in rice by 2009," according to
the governor.
Technologies
of hybrid rice and certified rice seeds will be utilized
for the purpose, said Aumentado, to increase the yield
of ricelands in the 15 towns.
Project
RACER has two other major components, which includes
the expansion of areas for rice and corn production.
|
An
additional real property tax will likewise be assessed for
idle lands "to compel the absentee or negligent landowners
to develop their property," Aumentado added.
"Landowners
will have to till their idle but arable lands so that they
will not pay higher realty tax to the government," the
governor stressed.
Meanwhile,
Vice Gov. Julius Caesar Herrera also called for the prioritization
of food security in the province.
Herrera,
who chairs the SP committee on agriculture, said all available
lands should be used for agricultural production while the
government must prohibit the conversion of agricultural lands
for other uses.
While
Bohol is considered the granary in Central Visayas, production
of rice and other agricultural products, except for mango,
have actually gone down, Herrera said.
To
achieve food sufficiency, the governor urged that agricultural
production in the province must be increased.
The
vice governor likewise assured that imposing higher real property
taxes to idle lands will be a priority legislation for the
SP.
|
