BUGUEY, Cagayan – Mayor Licerio M. Antiporda encouraged residents to grow crops to earn a living and support the food security program of the local government during the opening of its first Agri Festival in Pattao on April 23.
To support the farming activities in the municipality, the Department of Agriculture-Regional Field Office 2 headed by Regional Executive Director Narciso A. Edillo awarded the local government unit of Buguey an agricultural input amounting to P21,030,000 under the agency's production support services for wet season 2023.
Edillo, guest of honor in the festival, cited the directive of President and concurrent DA Secretary Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to intensify the value chain analysis (VCA) approach in the farm and fishery sectors.
This includes production-processing-marketing linkage for possible additional income of farmers and fishermen in the country.
“Kailangan pa na itaas natin ang ating mga kalakal at produksyon at i-konsider na natin itong value chain (We need to increase our products and production and consider this value chain),” said Edillo.
Edillo also noted that farm clustering in the region is beneficial, as the agriculture office prioritizes a group of farmers rather than individual recipients.