A wave of agricultural support worth more than โฑ300 million has reached the shores of Northern Samar as Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. visited the town of Mapanas on Wednesday, June 11, 2026.
In consonance with the directive of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the department rolled out โBenteng Bigas Meron na Programโ in the municipality. The program covered 1,000 beneficiaries, coming primarily from the vulnerable sector. Moreover, over 2,000 qualified farmers and fisherfolk from Mapanas and nearby municipalities received financial assistance under the Presidential Assistance for Farmers and Fisherfolk Program (PAFFP).
In his message, Secretary Laurel has also committed to helping bolster the tuna industry of Mapanas.
“๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐ด๐ช๐จ๐ถ๐ณ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฐ ๐ฏ๐ข ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฑ๐ข๐จ ๐ช๐ต๐ฐ’๐บ ๐ฏ๐ข๐จ๐ข๐ธ๐ข ๐ฅ๐ช๐ต๐ฐ ๐ข๐บ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐ต๐ถ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ด๐ข ๐ช๐ฏ๐บ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ข๐ต ๐ข๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ข๐ต ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ช๐ฏ๐บ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ฉ๐ข๐บ. ๐๐ฏ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ-๐ถ๐ฏ๐ข, ๐ฎ๐ข๐จ๐ญ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ข๐บ ๐ฑ๐ฐ ๐ต๐ข๐บ๐ฐ ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ญ๐ข๐ณ-๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฅ๐ช๐ต๐ฐ ๐ด๐ข ๐ช๐ฏ๐บ๐ฐโ๐ฏ๐ข 10,000 ๐ฌ๐จ ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ค๐ข๐ฑ๐ข๐ค๐ช๐ต๐บ. ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ธ๐ข, ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ง๐ถ๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฃ๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐บ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ช๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฏ๐ข ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฎ๐จ๐ข ๐ญ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ข๐ต๐ด ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ข ๐ต๐ถ๐ญ๐ฐ๐บ-๐ต๐ถ๐ญ๐ฐ๐บ ๐ฏ๐ข ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ช๐ฏ๐บ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฌ๐ช๐ต๐ข. ๐๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ข ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ญ๐ข๐ณ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ญ๐ข๐ณ-๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐ข๐จ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ข ๐ฑ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ข ๐ช๐ด๐ฅ๐ข, ๐ฌ๐ข๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ต ๐จ๐ถ๐ญ๐ข๐บ, ๐ฏ๐ข ๐ช๐ฑ๐ข๐ฑ๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ข ๐ฏ๐ข ๐ฏ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ต๐ฐ. ๐๐ฐ ๐บ๐ถ๐ฏ ๐ฑ๐ฐ ๐บ๐ถ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ช๐ฉ๐ข๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐จ ๐ฏ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฏ ๐ด๐ข ๐ฏ๐จ๐ข๐บ๐ฐ๐ฏ,โ he gladly announced.
[I am confident that, once completed, this will help improve your lives. First, we will install a solar-powered ice plant here with a 10,000-kg capacity. Second, we hope to deliver the light boats by the end of the year to help ensure your catch continues. We will also send a modular solar-powered cold storage unit for fish, meat, and vegetables. These are the assistance measures we can provide for now.]
After his message, the Secretary led the ceremonial turnover of interventions to the local government units and farmersโ associations. This includes the โฑ4.7 million worth of farm inputs, facilities and equipment from various DA banner programs aimed at boosting farm productivity and increasing income among beneficiaries.
Meanwhile, the biggest component of the assistance package was the โฑ293 million worth of agricultural insurance coverage through the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC). The insurance support aims to protect farmers and fisherfolk from losses caused by typhoons, floods, and other climate-related hazards that frequently wreak havoc in Northern Samar.
Further strengthening local abaca industries, the Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority (PhilFIDA) also turned over โฑ1.2 million worth of abaca stripping machines to help modernize fiber processing and increase the value of locally produced abaca.
Other attached agencies and line bureaus of the department, including the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech), and the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA), also extended assistance to the LGU and local farmers. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), a member of the Regional Management Council, also provided civil registration services to farmers and fisherfolk.
The visit marked Secretary Laurel’s 2nd trip to Northern Samar since assuming office, underscoring the Department of Agriculture’s continued focus on the province to bolster agricultural productivity and resilience.
For many farmers and fisherfolk, the visit’s significance was measured not only by the Secretary’s presence but by the concrete assistance delivered that could help strengthen livelihoods, protect investments, and create new opportunities for agricultural and economic growth across the province.