By VENUS MAY H. SARMIENTO

ALAMINOS CITY – A total of 4,737 farmers received full rice seed subsidy in a joint undertaking of the Department of Agriculture and the city government to give flesh to the city’s vision for better and massive food production to benefit its constituents.

City Agriculturist Ernesto De Leon said the subsidy program is of two kinds – the certified seeds subsidy and the hybrid rice subsidy.

“One bag of certified seed costs P1,200. Under the program, the Department of Agriculture will pay P760 and the farmer will only pay P440. For the hybrid rice seeds subsidy program, DA will shoulder P1,500 while the remaining 50% will be subsidized by the city government,” said De Leon.

A farmer recipient of hybrid seed subsidy will also get an additional three bags of organic fertilizer, 10 kilos of zinc sulfate and four bags of vital aid.

De Leon said that if a farmer uses hybrid rice and the technology system is properly followed, potential yield can reach 10-12 tons per hectare.

Mayor Hernani Braganza is optimistic the city and his constituents will have enough local rice supply well into the so-called lean months. He thanked the DA for introducing new technologies that would boost farm production.

‘Nagpapasalamat tayo sa DA sa pagtuturo sa atin ng mga makabagong teknolohiya upang makatipid ang mga magsasaka. Ang mga certified seeds na binibigay ng DA at city government ay galling sa mga 45 seed growers dito sa Alaminos,.” Braganza said.

Now on its second year, Braganza noted the remarkable increase of the funding for the subsidy program.

“Nagsimula tayo nung 2007 kung saan may 1,400 na magsasaka ang nabenepisyuhan sa programang ito na may budget na humigit-kumulang P1.5 million. Ngayong taon, ang budget para dito ay halos P2.3 million at halos 5,000 na magsasaka ang mabibigyan. Hopefully next year, 100% ng mga farmers natin ang mabibigyan ng libreng butil at fertilizers,” Baraganza added.

Braganza and De Leon were joined by Dr. Jeannette Villareal of DA Regional Field Unit I and Hermogenes Pardon of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources during the subsidy program launching at Don Leopoldo Sison Auditorium this city. (PIA-Pangasinan)