Sta. Barbara gets P20-M corn facility support

By April 20, 2008Business, News

STA.BARBARA–Barangay Leet here, a self-sufficient agrarian reform community, will soon receive P20 million worth of post-harvest facility for corn from the Department of Agriculture (DA).

Albertini de Guzman, municipal administrator, said the project will include a warehouse and equipment for processing the corn harvest in this town where more than 600 hectares of land are devoted purely to yellow corn.

The proposed post-harvest facility, De Guzman said, will also serve as a trading center for yellow corn.

Sta. Barbara is the biggest producer of yellow corn throughout the province of Pangasinan and the entire Region 1.

Mayor Reynaldo Velasco, de Guzman and Provincial Agriculturist Jose Almendares last week visited Mindanao, particularly the provinces of North and South Cotabato and Sarangani, to check out similar projects that will be duplicated in Sta. Barbara.

Velasco sought the project from Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap when he came to Pangasinan in March to grace the Farmers’ Agricultural Exposition in Carmen, Rosales.

There are at least two other corn post-harvest facilities that will be built in Pangasinan, one in Rosales and the other in Bayambang.

Yellow corn is a pro-duct that is in demand by manufacturers of feeds for poultry and animals.

Meanwhile, speaking before members of the Provincial Development Council in their meeting and strategic planning session in Lingayen on April 14, Velasco said all development efforts of the Sta. Barbara municipal government are geared towards the realization of two “As”, which are agriculture and airport.

He said his administration is pursuing infrastructure projects that will both improve the life of farmers and their families and lead to the establishment an airport in barangay Leet.

Among the projects mentioned by Velasco in support of both objectives are the concreting of the Banaoang-Bangsal to Mapandan Road, construction of the Matic-Matic-Leet Bridge, the Tebag-Asin-Malasiqui Road, and the road from Catablan going to Malasiqui.

Velasco reiterated that his vision for an international airport in Sta. Barbara will be a boon to his town which relies mainly on agriculture.

Velasco also stressed that they are prioritizing flood control and irrigation for the town’s development.

“When there is rain, there is too much water. When there is no rain, there is not much water,” he said.

The town’s irrigation system is currently being rehabilitated with the help of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), which will increase coverage to 4,200 hectares from the current 1,000 hectares.

Dikes in flood prone areas are also being restored and strengthened through the Department of Public Works and Highway in preparation for the coming rainy season. —LM

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