IPIL, Zamboanga Sibugay — The provincial government has allocated PHP800,000 as part of an expanded agriculture program to boost local corn production.
Known as the Agricultural Support to Farmers on Corn Production (ASFCP), the program provides PHP10,000 capital with zero interest to corn farmers.
“I am looking for a sustainable production of our corn farmers, who mostly live in upland areas,” Gov. Wilter Yap Palma said Friday.
The zero-interest lending program is implemented by the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPAG), and a similar program is also being implemented for rice farmers.
Aurelia Cababat, acting provincial agriculturist, said the ASFCP is the brainchild of Palma, whose aim is to achieve sustainable local agriculture production.
Cababat said the farmers are required to adopt the organic farming method to be able to avail of the loan through the ASFCP. The loan is payable after harvest.
Cababat said the ASFCP has already benefited 80 corn farmers covering 20 hectares in this town and the nearby municipalities of Kabasalan, Naga, R.T. Lim and Tungawan.
Data from OPAG showed that 5,966.80 hectares of the agricultural lands of this province is devoted to corn farming. (Dennis Baguio/PNA)
