By Leilanie G. Adriano
Staff Reporter
LAOAG CITY—The Ilocos Norte provincial government is
beefing up rice stocks in the province to ensure steady supply even in extreme
emergency situations or during strong typhoon.
The Sangguniang Panlalawigan unanimously approved Draft
Provincial Resolution No. 2019-11-060 authorizing Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew
Joseph M. Manotoc to execute and sign a memorandum of agreement with the
National Food Authority for the rice sales in preparation for the occurrence of
natural calamities.
As the harvest season is nearing to an end in the
province, SP member Domingo Ambrocio, chair of the committee on agriculture
said in an interview that there is a need to maintain a stable price of major
crops in the province.
Last year, the Ilocos Norte board has allocated around PHP35
million for the purchase of palay and rice in the province to qualified rice
traders and farmers.
Qualified traders refer to groups and individuals who are
engaged in palay or rice trading while the farmer-recipients are individual
farmers or accredited farmers organizations in various parts of the province.
This way, the Ilocos Norte government is assured of a
sufficient rice supply in Ilocos Norte until the next harvest season.
Considering the number of typhoons that may hit the
province until the year end, Mr. Ambrocio said it is better to come up with
some contingency measures to avoid rice shortage.
As of posting, the MOA is still being finalized for
further review by members of the Provincial Board. (Leilanie G.
Adriano)
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