GENERAL SANTOS CITY: Mayor Ronnel
Rivera and the City Agriculturist Office (CAO) distributed seedlings to farmers
from Barangay Tinagacan and Barangay Batomelong Thursday, Jan. 15.
The farmer-beneficiaries’ crops
were destroyed by strong winds commonly known as ipo-ipo last April 2014.
A total of 61 farmers, 53 from
Tinagacan and 8 from Batomelong, identified by the CAO will be able to start
again after receiving different varieties of seedlings and fertilizers.
The seedlings are mango, coconut and
banana. Aside from that, 100 sacks of organic fertilizers and 100 complete
fertilizers were also given to these farmers.
Even with a limited budget of P299-thousand,
Merlinda Donasco, CAO head, said that they have to maximize whatever they have
to help the victims.
Fishermen from Barangay Bawing and
Barangay West also received shallow water fish shelters (locally known as
“payao”) with the help of BFAR.
Some 85 fisherfolk, 30 from Bawing
and 55 from West, became the recipient of the project which has a total cost of
around P200-thousand.
According to Rivera, the project
will ensure rapid restoration of depleted fisheries resources and at the same time
will provide sustainable livelihood for small fishermen. (with reports from Ian John M. Lagare)