VIGAN CITY, Ilocos Sur (PIA) — The fifth leg of the Ilocos region “Dagyaw” open government town hall meeting allowed the farmers and fisherfolk to raise concerns, suggestions, and inquiries on the food and agriculture sector.

The gathering was held at the Provincial Farmers Livelihood Development Center in this city on July 5 in an effort to strengthen the partnership between the people and the government.

Through the lead of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Region 1, some 775 agricultural producers, non-government organization representatives, and senior officials and employees from various government agencies convened personally while 335 participants joined virtually via Zoom.

Bernardo Antolin, president of the Tobacco Farmers Association in Santa Maria town who said he joined the meeting to be informed of programs and initiatives of the government, expressed his concerns on the threat of El Niño which may affect their production.

Governor Jerry Singson responded that the provincial government has an on-going project building 30 solar-powered water pumps across the province to address the issue.

Moreover, Engineer Loreta Vergara, chairperson of CSF Community Fish Landing Center Marketing Cooperative in La Union thanked the DA for their interventions including their salt processing facility. 

Similar to Antolin, she spoke of environmental problems that affect agri-production and food security.

She inquired about BFAR’s plans on the increased mortality rate of the BFAR fingerlings caused by the sudden rise of temperature and the distribution timetable.

BFAR Regional Director Rosario Segundina P. Gaerlan said that their office will meet with the supplier of the fingerlings to check all other issues as well and discuss appropriate action. 

In addition to this, she continued, “For those who have fish ponds, we recommend planting banana trees if the area is not salty, but if it is then we advise to plant mangrove instead.”

Meanwhile, Roma Ng, a farmer representative from the Farmers Association of Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur, said that all their learnings from the presentations of the DA and the BFAR, and the discussion will be of great assistance to farmers like herself, to increase their harvest and improve production.

“Kung may reklamo man o suhestyon, gaya ng tungkol sa subsidy o mga equipment, ay maaari naming ilapit sa mga Municipal Agriculture Officer naming para matugunan anuman ang hinaing namin,” she added.

Further, the Dagyaw 2023 was also livestreamed on Facebook with a reach of 2,768 via the official pages of DILG Region 1, the Provincial Government of Ilocos Sur, Philippine Information Agency Region 1 and its provincial information centers, BFAR Region 1, Department of Science and Technology, and the Nueva Segovia Consortium of Cooperatives, Inc.

The officials and heads of the said agencies served as government panelists, and they were joined by chairpersons of various civil society organizations. (JCR/MJTAB/ATV, PIA Ilocos Sur)