BALAGTAS, Bulacan — The Department of Agriculture (DA) formally launched the “Benteng Bigas Meron Na (BBM) Para sa Magsasaka” program at the National Food National Food Authority (NFA) Balagtas Warehouse 3 in Barangay Burol 2nd here on Wednesday morning (Aug. 13).
According to an interview with reporters to DA Assistant Secretary Genevieve Velicaria-Guevarra, the “Benteng Bigas Meron Na (BBM) Para sa Magsasaka” program also came from the request of farmers who also wanted to be part of the P20 rice.
“At definitely sila naman ang ating producer talaga ng ating programa ay open arms at ginawa na rin itong programa pra sila na rin ay makapag-avail. Ang priority ng programa sa ngayon ay yung may 2 hectares and below at pati narin yung mga walang lupa na nagtatratrabaho rin sa bukid,” Guevarra said..
“Guevarra also explained the requirements for farmers to avail of the program, “small farmers can purchase up to 10 kilogram per month. They can also avail one sack or 50kg of rice until December.”
He added that farmers registered in the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) who farm two hectares of land or less and farmworkers are eligible for this.
18 NFA warehouses launched the program today, August 13, and the target is to launch it in more than 100 NFA warehouses nationwide by September,” the undersecretary said. The NFA warehouses were open 8 a.m up to 5 p.m.
According to Zenaida Agustin, a farmer from Barangay Santo Rosa 2, Marilao, Bulacan, this project of PBBM is very good because in reality we can now buy rice for P20. I hope this program for farmers will be extended so that more farmers can benefit.
On the other hand, Emelita Agapito, of Brgy. Bunlo, Bocaue, Bulacan, said in an interview, “even though we were only allotted 50 kilograms, this is a great help and a great program by our President. It is a big saving for small farmers like us because it is only P20 per kilo. We also hope that this program will be extended because this is a great help to us.”
Meanwhile, the local government unit of Pandi is also implementing the P20kg Rice for Pandi residents program in each barangay.
According to Pandi Mayor Rico Roque on Thursday, all residents of Pandi who hold an E-Card can avail of this program. Each Pandi resident who holds an E-Card can buy 5 kilos of rice per person.
“If a family has 5 people with an E-Card, they can buy 5 packs of five kilos each,” said Mayor Roque.
The mayor added, we used the E-Card to protect the funds released by the Pandi LGU and maybe even people from other towns will buy from us.
The P20kg Rice for Pandi residents program is from the initiative of Mayor Roque and the Pandi Municipal Government. (UnliNews Online)
