Mayor Geraldine Rosal vowed to continue to support the agricultural sector through the continuing distribution of farm inputs to the farmers to further improve their harvests.

Rosal, in an interview on Thursday, said she would continue to provide high-yielding seeds, fertilizers, farm machinery, and equipment to the farmers for their planting needs and other activities.

She said she would also provide technical assistance not only to the farmers but also to the fisherfolk to help them have bountiful harvests.

Rosal said she is impressed by the strong support of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to the agriculture sector which is expected to redound to a better standard of living for the farmers.

“The newly approved PHP8-billion by the Department of Budget and Management to the Department of Agriculture for the provision and distribution of PHP5,000 subsidy to each of the 1,563,781 eligible rice farmers on the 3rd and 4th quarter of 2022 has a connection to the implementation of the Rice Farmers Financial Assistance. This is a strong signal of the willingness of the government to respond to the needs of the farmers,” Rosal said.

The mayor said she would also ask the City Council to review all the ordinances with regard to marine resources to update the local laws and make them more beneficial to the fisherfolk.

“I will ask also the personnel of the ‘Bantay Dagat’ to always secure the marine resources in the city’s territorial sea to make sure the coral reefs are not destroyed due to illegal fishing activities,” Rosal said.

She said she, together with city agriculturist Shiela Naz, councilors Renato Valladolid Ismael Buban, and the members of the Barangay Maslog Fisher Folks Association (BMFFA), recently released 14,000 fingerlings of bangus (milkfish) in the fish cage operated by the City Agriculture Office (CAO) at the Polique Bay.

Naz said the fish cage will be managed by the BMFFA members as part of their livelihood program.

“The fish cage is a high-density polyethylene floating cage designed with a pipe and net that would protect the fingerlings from disaster and any forms of natural calamities,” she said.

Naz said they held seminars for BMFFA members to equip them with additional knowledge in feeding the brackish-born species for them to grow faster.

“The project is part of the Aqua-Culture Development Program of the CAO to promote cultured fish cages to augment the supply for fish consumption and give additional income to fisherfolk in these communities,” she said. (PNA)