The combination of farming, fishing and tourism will bring economic growth for Siquijor province.

Convinced of this critical lnik towards economic development, Siquijor Gov. Zaldy Villa  encouraged Siquijodnons to focus on the three sectors and raise farm productivity as he thanked the Department of Agriculture (DA) for the various agriculture programs for the province.

“Gisuta na nako daan ang kahimtang sa atong agrikultura ug didto nako nasinati nga ang kadaghanan sa atong lumupyo nagsalig sa panagat ug panguma. Usa ra gyud ang akong tinguha— nga moasenso ang kahimtang sa katawhan mao kinahanglan dugangan ang atong mga programa ug ifocus ang atong attention ngadto sa panagat, agrikultura ug turismo (I have long studied and verified that most of our locals depend on fishing and farming as their means of livelihood. My only aspiration is to uplift the lives of our people so that we need to expand our programs and focus our attention to fishing, agriculture and tourism)," said Villa during the launching of the “Kadiwa sa Ani at Kita” program in the province recently.

He said that since the start of his leadership as governor, he has been convinced and focused that with the combination of these three, he is confident that the issues on poverty, job generation, and economic difficulty will be given solution and improve the lives of the Siquijodnons.

“Wala ko nasayup kay medyo niasenso na man gyud ang probinsya (I was not wrong because the province have somewhat progressed)," he said, citing the huge cuts in poverty incidence of the province from 47% in 2015 down to 7.2% in 2018. 

He said that no less than Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte has recognized this and continued to give his all-out support for Siquijor to recover its economy from the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said more banks are also coming in the island that proves their trust and confidence to the money circulation and economy of the province.

Recognizing the importance and great contributions of the agriculture programs for Siquijor,  the governor is thankful to DA and urged the Siquijodnons to work harder to support the programs starting with backyad gardening.

“Ato pang padaghanon ang atong vegetables, livestock, and poultry aron dili nata mag-import (Let us increase our vegetable, livestock and poultry produce so we don't need to import anymore)," said Villa.

The governor assured the farmers and fisherfolks of his support and likewise called the same level of support and unity from them. (RAC/PIA7 Siquijor)