The municipal government of Guagua in Pampanga beefs up its agriculture programs to attain self-sufficiency.
In today’s episode of Network Briefing News, Mayor Dante Torres said they are implementing various programs that will aid farmers and fisherfolks in their livelihood, while at the same time helping Guaguaeños achieve food sufficiency.
“In my three terms as the town’s mayor, I’ve seen from our farmers here that among the primary challenges in agriculture are weather and water. That is why we decided to put up communal irrigation out of our local funds to help farmers increase their productivity,” he said.
Torres shared that the municipal government is also teaching farmers on how to schedule planting vegetables.
“We explain to them that it is not good to grow the same type of vegetable at the same time. Example, if Barangay A plants eggplants now, Barangay B should at least wait for another two weeks to grow the same kind of vegetable. This way, we can stabilize the price of their yield. When there is a surplus, some farmers may sell their crops at a higher or lower price, thus, some may have the tendency to lose profit,” he cited.
The mayor also mentioned that since rice is the primary agricultural product in the town, the municipal government is in talks with the Philippine Rice Research Institute for the Palayaman Plus program, wherein PhilRice will introduce new varieties of rice to the farmers to increase their yield.
During the pandemic, the municipal government also implemented the Manukan sa Bakuran project wherein beneficiaries were given 12 chicks that they cultivated for possible reproduction.
Aside from that, it is also partnering with Pampanga State Agricultural University to open agriculture technology and fishery courses at Guagua Community College.
Guagua town is 60 percent agricultural. It has around six to seven farmer groups and associations. (CLJD/MJSC-PIA 3)