OUTSTANDING Ilocos Norte farmers dominate awardees during the awarding ceremony of the 2014 Regional Gawad Saka held at the Plaza Del Norte, Laoag City on July 17. (Lei Adriano) |
By Leilanie G. Adriano
Staff reporter
LAOAG CITY—The Department
of Agriculture-Region 1 recognized on July 17 outstanding farmers and farmers’
group in the 2014 Gawad Saka Regional Awards held at the Plaza del Norte, this
city.
Clad in Barong Tagalog and
Filipiniana dresses, these outstanding men and women from the agriculture
sector took time out from their daily routine as they climb up the stage at the
Ilocos Norte convention center to receive their plaque of recognition and cash
award from the DA for their great contribution in enhancing the development of
agriculture and fisheries.
Engr. Ariel Cayanan, executive
director of the Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries who served as
guest of honor and speaker lauded farmers in Region 1 for their remarkable
performance in increasing farmers’ productivity, resulting to food sufficiency
and sustainability.
“We salute our hardworking
farmers for their excellent performance. Our awardees have gone beyond the
traditional farming as they rise above innovative ways to improve their yield
and contribute to positive growth,” Mr. Cayanan said.
Out of the 17 regional
awardees, nine or most of the awardees will represent Ilocos Norte in the
national search for Gawad Saka this year.
“We take pride of our farmers
as they remain resilient at all times,” said provincial agriculturist Norma
Lagmay citing the hard work and creativity of Ilocos farmers in keeping the
economy going.
For the individual category,
this year’s Gawad Saka Regional Awardees are: Orlando Bumanglag, outstanding
rice farmer from San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte; Jonathan Sony Domingo, outstanding
young farmer from Solsona, Ilocos Norte; Alberto Calsada, outstanding
agri-entreprenuer of Bacarra, Ilocos Norte; Mario Dennis Pagal, outstanding
small animal raiser of Laoag City; Eulalia Llaneras, municipal agricultural
officer in LGU-Bacnotan, La Union; Dionisio Angeleo Sr.; outstanding
fisherfolk-fish culture in San Gabriel, La Union; Marlon Taasin, outstanding
corn farmer in Sta. Catalina, Ilocos Sur; Arnulfo Corpuz, outstanding large
animal raiser in San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte; Mary Ann Baradi, outstanding agricultural
researcher in PhilRice, Batac, Ilocos Norte; Rommel Bumanglag, outstanding
Agriculture Extension Worker in LGU-San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte; and Ediecris
Raquino, outstanding fisherfolk-fish capture in Laoag City.
Unfortunately, two of the
outstanding individual farmers—Ilocos Norte’s outstanding rice farmer Mr. Bumanglag
and outstanding small animal raiser Mr. Pagal were represented by their family
members as the two were already dead. According to the search committee, Mr. Pagal
died of heart attack recently while Mr. Bumanglag was shot dead in San Nicolas
town.
Meanwhile, the other 2014
Regional Gawad Saka awardees under the group category are: City Fisheries
and Aquatic Resources Management Council (CFARMC) of San Fernando, La Union as
outstanding CFARMC; Rolando Rocapor and family as outstanding farm family of
Rosario, La Union; Bigbiga Rural Improvement Club as outstanding RIC of
Sudipen, La Union; Fish Searchers Sta. Cruz Fishermen Association, Inc. as
outstanding small farmer/fisherfolk organization of Sta. Cruz, Ilocos Sur; City
Agriculture and Fishery Council (CAFC) as outstanding CAFC of Laoag City; and
the Barangay Food Terminal (BFT) Santiago Sur as outstanding BFT of Caba, La
Union.
The Gawad Saka, the search for
outstanding Filipino farmers, is an annual undertaking of the DA which aims to
give due recognition and pay tribute to dedicated individuals and institutions
whose exemplary accomplishments contributed to the country’s agricultural
development.
Each winner for the
individual category received P30,000 cash prize while each group category
received P50,000 cash.
The regional Gawad Saka
winners are automatic nominees to represent Region 1 in the national search for
Gawad Saka awardees which will be announced later this year.
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