A Palawan board member wants the province included in the priority areas of the Department of Agriculture (DA) where drought resilient palay seeds will be distributed to mitigate the effects of climate change on marginal farmers.
Board Member Winston Arzaga said in a resolution on Tuesday that the lack of certified palay seeds contributed to the loss of income of farmers and has generally contributed to the economic difficulty.
“Sana mapagbigyan tayo kasi sobra na ang init, medyo mahaba ang tag-init ngayon. Kawawa ang mga magsasaka natin. Kaya mas maganda kung maisama tayo sa bibigyan niyan kasi DA ang nagdi-distribute niyan,” he said.
Arzaga said Palawan is a rice-producing province that needs the support of the DA to control and prevent the serious effect of drought.
But in the last few years, he said Palawan has not been included in the department’s priority list since it as a tourism province.
“Last year hindi tayo nakasama kasi hindi nila kino-consider ang Palawan as agricultural province, tourism pa rin. Pero sana makita nila ang need at mabigyan tayo.” Arzaga said.
