Our invisible farmers, fishermen
HERE we go again.
Super Typhoon Egay came and went, and thank God, Pangasinan was largely unscathed, at least compared to other provinces in the Ilocos Region.
The Pangasinan Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) reported only P34-million in damages to the “agriculture” sector.
Still, it was about crops destroyed, lost fishing opportunities! It was not about our farmers and fishermen who became distraught and desperate, how to recover their losses, particularly, how to pay their 5-6 debts to loan sharks and unscrupulous traders after flooding and deadly sea waves stopped them from earning a living.
To date, the provincial government has not been reported as having launched or conducted a study how farmers and fisherfolks can best be assisted after a calamity hits home. The Guico administration has so far relied only on initiatives from agencies of the Department of Agriculture and Department of Agrarian Reform.
The absence or lack of initiatives from both Urduja and the Capitol indicates that our land and aqua farmers’ livelihood do not enjoy a high priority in their agenda.
From the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, no one stood up or raised any concern about the plight of our farmers after Egay left. Instead, more time for deliberation was taken by a resolution declaring a DAR official as persona non grata! It was pathetic seeing our board members concerned about the “insulted” ego of their fellow officials in the governor’s hometown rather than the farmers plight, they who lost their investments for the year.
When will the honorable board members call the PDRRMO, provincial agriculturist, veterinarian, local banks, traders to their touted “Question Hour” to establish the current status of our farming and fishing sectors? More importantly, how livelihood of crop farmers, aqua farmers and fishermen are presently affected by national and provincial government policies.
Is Gov. Ramon Guico III even aware that his administration can take that big leap for the farmers by making crop insurance an SOP for farmers in Pangasinan?
Have our provincial officials forgotten that the primary industry that supports the province’s economy is the agriculture sector, mainly the farmers and fisherfollks?
Have our farmers and fishermen really become invisible to their eyes?
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