The Department of Agriculture (DA) has extended P307 million worth of agricultural intervention, such as farm-to-market roads and post-harvest facilities in Antique, Aklan, Capiz and Iloilo.
DA Secretary Manny Piñol said a total of 68 kilometers of farm-to-market roads will be built in San Remigio, the poorest town in Antique, to connect it to commercial centers.
He also committed the provision of cold-storage facility, which the province’s fisher folk requested to reduce post-harvest losses.
Visiting Culasi town in Antique, Piñol said he was providing a total of P69.278 million in agricultural support for the province’s farmers and fisher folk.
Aklan Vice Governor Reynaldo Quimpo said agriculture is the province’s main driver for growth on top of tourism, with 82 percent of its land area of 8,543 hectares devoted to agriculture.
Piñol encouraged the province to focus on food production since it already has guaranteed markets enriched by tourism, with Boracay drawing heavy local and foreign tourist arrivals.
The province’s production of pineapple fiber, one of Aklan’s traditionally successful industries, is facing challenges, farmers told Piñol. (Ellalyn De Vera-Ruiz)
