By: Zacarian Sarao – Reporter 

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. wished that the lives of Filipino farmers would improve with the help of the various agricultural programs of the government.

On his 67th birthday Friday, September 13, Marcos led the launching of the “Agri Puhunan at Pantawid” (APP) program in Nueva Ecija.

“Talagang lahat ng bawat magsasaka sa Pilipinas maramdaman itong programang ito at lahat ng programa na ginagawa sa DA (Department of Agriculture), lahat ng ginagawa natin sa pagtulong ng DBP (Development Bank of the Philippines), lahat ng mga financing institution,” the president said in a chance interview when asked for his birthday wish.

(Every farmer in the Philippines should feel this program and all the programs being done at the DA, everything we are doing with the help of the DBP, and all the financing institutions.)

“Lahat po ‘yong buong sistema ng agrikultura, ay ang birthday wish ko, mabuo na natin para maganda ang takbo ng sektor ng agrikultura para gumanda ang buhay ng bawat magsasaka, ng kanilang pamilya at ng bawat Pilipino,” he added.

(The entire agricultural system, my birthday wish, is to develop the agricultural sector so that the lives of every farmer, their family, and every Filipino can be better.)

The APP program aims to assist rice farmer-members of agricultural cooperatives tilling 1.2 million hectares of land nationwide.

One of its goals is to raise farmers’ productivity and income by providing low-cost credit, financial assistance, and a ready market for their harvests as it offers credit facilities to rice farmers and cooperatives for 50,000 hectares of land during the dry cropping season from 2024 to 2025.

In a statement, the DA  said an APP beneficiary planting rice on one hectare of land will receive a net allowance of P58,000, which includes a subsistence allowance of P32,000 to be given P8,000 monthly for four months.

Published Date: September 13, 2024