Christmas came early for some farmers and fisherfolk in Leyte as the Department of Agriculture Regional Field Office VIII (DA RFO8), in collaboration with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources RO8 (BFAR RO8), Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office VIII (DSWD FO VIII), and the local government of Palo, jointly distributed over P7 million worth of agri-fishery interventions during the 𝘗𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘉𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯: 𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘶-𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘰 𝘒𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘥𝘢 𝘢𝘵 𝘏𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘨 𝘗𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘢 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘴𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘬𝘢, held at Brgy. Tacuranga, Palo, Leyte.

The event served as a tribute to the invaluable role and unwavering resilience of local farmers and fisherfolk, who continue their vital work of securing the food supply amidst severe pressures from rising costs, climate change, and market instability.

In her message, Mayor Remedios Petilla, described the event as a celebration of our everyday heroes who continue to till the fields and brave the seas to feed the community.

“𝑃𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑎𝑔𝑖 ℎ𝑎𝑛 𝑜𝑘𝑎𝑠𝑦𝑜𝑛 𝑦𝑎𝑛𝑎 𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑛 ℎ𝑖𝑛 𝑑𝑎𝑘𝑜 𝑛𝑎 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑦𝑎 ℎ𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑛 𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑔𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑖 𝑘𝑎𝑦 𝑘𝑎𝑚𝑜 𝑎𝑛 𝑝𝑎𝑔-𝑎𝑠𝑎 ℎ𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑎𝑦𝑎𝑛 ℎ𝑖𝑢𝑛𝑜𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑦. 𝐴𝑛 𝑚𝑔𝑎 𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑎ℎ𝑎𝑡𝑎𝑔 𝑦𝑎𝑛𝑎 𝑖𝑛 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑎 𝑝𝑎𝑔𝑏𝑢𝑙𝑖𝑔 ℎ𝑎 𝑚𝑔𝑎 𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑠𝑎 𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑠𝑎 𝑛𝑎 𝑏𝑢𝑟𝑢ℎ𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑛 ℎ𝑎 𝑖𝑦𝑜 𝑚𝑔𝑎 𝑓𝑎𝑟𝑚.” she said.

[“Through this occasion, our national government gives great importance to you, especially since you are the hope of the nation in terms of food security. The provided interventions given to you will support your activities in the farms.”]

DA RFO8 Assistant Regional Director for Operations, Dir. Jenny Lyn Almeria, expressed her profound gratitude to the people who tirelessly feed the nation and emphasized the important role of the farmers and fisherfolk to food security. She also highlighted the importance of close coordination for the implementation of different programs and projects.

“𝑊𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 ℎ𝑜𝑛𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑓𝑎𝑟𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑖𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑜𝑙𝑘 𝑡𝑜𝑑𝑎𝑦, 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑘𝑢𝑛 𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑦 𝑚𝑔𝑎 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑢𝑚𝑎 𝑛𝑔𝑎𝑛 𝑝𝑢𝑟𝑢𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑖𝑠𝑑𝑎 𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑦 𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑛 𝑘𝑎𝑘𝑎𝑢𝑛𝑜𝑛 𝑛𝑔𝑎 𝑖𝑠𝑑𝑎, 𝑏𝑢𝑔𝑎𝑠 𝑛𝑔𝑎𝑛 𝑖𝑏𝑎 𝑝𝑎 𝑛𝑔𝑎 𝑝𝑎𝑔𝑘𝑎𝑜𝑛. 𝐴𝑛 𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑛 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝 ℎ𝑎 𝐿𝐺𝑈 𝑃𝑎𝑙𝑜 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑔𝑟𝑖-𝑓𝑖𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑠,” she said.

[“We are honoring our farmers and fisherfolk today, because if there were no farmers and fisherfolk, we would not have fish, rice, and other foods to eat. Our relationship with the LGU Palo through our projects and programs is strong because of their strong support to the agri-fishery sectors.”]

The assistance package included farm inputs such as hybrid rice seeds amounting to P120,000.00, inorganic fertilizers amounting to P129,000.00, and two financial grants totalling to P4.9 million under the Agri-Entrepreneurship Capability Enhancement Assistance (AECEA) of the Sagip Saka, aimed to support beneficiaries enhance their productivity and income.

On the other, BFAR RO8 also distributed fishing gears and equipment to their beneficiairies, including units of 30-footer FRP Boat, 22-footer FRP Boat, 47-footer Seaweed Harvester, Bottom Set Gillnet, and Tilapia Finferlings. Lastly, the DSWD RO8 handed over family food packs to the beneficiaries.