Agri chief disperses aid to NorCot Vinta farmer-victims

KABACAN, North Cotabato -- Quick response. This is the mantra of the Department of Agriculture as the agency delivered assistance on January 19, 2017 at the University of Southern Mindanao to farmers in the province of North Cotabato affected by typhoon Vinta.Farmers from the municipalities of Kabacan, Pikit and Carmen received P2.6-Million worth of production support assistance for them to start anew in their farming activities.A total of 1,150 bags of rice and corn seeds were personally distributed by Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol to qualified recipients in the said municipalities.The local agriculture offices already confirmed the list of the farmers hit by typhoon and the DA directly handed-over the seeds to the recipients.Aside from the production aid, the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) gave P452, 224 worth of indemnity checks to Kabacan and Pikit farmers.Two weeks earlier, Secretary Piñol also turned-over agricultural interventions to ravaged farmlands by typhoon Vinta in Lanao Del Norte province.In his post in his official Facebook page MannyPiñol, the topmost DA official said that local officials and stakeholders could not believe that government could act so fast to respond to the needs of the farmers so they could recover immediately after a calamity. (DA RFO 12 - RAFIS)