ILOILO – An estimated 3,000 farmers are expected to attend today’s Provincial Farmers’ Congress in the municipality of Badiangan.
The congress would focus on the “agribusiness and entrepreneurship way of farming.”
It aims to encourage farmers not only to produce but also to sell their products directly to consumers, according to Provincial Agriculture Office (PAO) chief Ildefonso Toledo.
Organized by the provincial government, the congress would also promote organic agriculture.
There is no registration fee in tomorrow’s congress, said Toledo.
The congress would also be a venue for his office to gather feedback from farmers, and specifically on what appropriate assistance the provincial government should provide them.
In last year’s congress in Cabatuan, over 2,000 farmers attended.
Toledo said there are an estimated 100 thousand farmers in Iloilo, citing data from the RBSA or Registration for Basic Sector and Agriculture (RBSA) in the province’s 42 municipalities and one component city.
Registered farmers are prioritized by the provincial government and other government agencies in implementing programs and projects or releasing of assistance, said Toledo.
One of these programs is the distribution of quality seeds.
Registered farmers can also avail themselves of monetary help from the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. in times of calamities such as typhoons, flooding, drought, etc., said Toledo./PN
