A total of 28, 537 farmers in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) who were affected by the onslaught of El Niño are set to receive PHP10,000 financial assistance each as part of the Presidential Assistance for Farmers, Fisherfolk, and Families (PAFFF) Program under the Office of the President (OP).
DA-CAR Regional Executive Director Atty. Jennilyn Dawayan informed during the Benguet Farmers Congress last June 5, that the cash aid will be distributed during the Presidential Visit of His Excellency Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. in the region in July 2024. The assistance aims to help Filipinos affected by the El Nino phenomenon.
The fund will be distributed through the Provincial Local Government Units coming directly from the OP, Dir. Dawayan added. The farmer-beneficiaries were identified based on the damage reports submitted by the LGUs and were validated afterward by the DA.
The DA-CAR’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office Final El Nino Report issued May 30, 2024, showed that CAR recorded a total crop production loss of 173,659.70 metric tons valued at Php1,233,990,965 and livestock close to 1,000 heads with an estimated value of Php3,432,150 affecting a total of 28,537 farmers regionwide. By JBAgrifino