Saturday

September 4, 2008
Manila Bulletin

GMA asks N.Ecija folk to produce more staple food for RP
By Magtanggol C. Vilar

PALAYAN CITY – Acknowledging the share of Nuevo Ecija “in producing rice that feeds the nation,” President Arroyo asked Novo Ecijanos to answer the challenge on the table for Filipinos.”

The President issued last Tuesday the challenge on the occasion of the celebration of the 112th anniversary of the “Unang Sigaw ng Nuevo Ecija” in which she was the guest speaker.

President Arroyo lauded the efforts of Nuevo Ecija Gov. Aurelio M. Umali in effecting a dramatic turnaround of the province’s economy through its agricultural pursuits together with infrastructure projects such as farm-to-market roads.

With the presidential entourage were several Cabinet members who included Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap and Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Lito Atienza.

On the same occasion, the President distributed a total of loans and subsidies of P1.2 billion to members of 48 farm cooperatives in the province.

She also distributed 82 flat-bed dryers to municipalities in the four congressional districts, 200 land patents under the government’s “Handog Titulo”program to landless residents in the town of General Tinio, San Leonardo, Zaragoza and Science City of Muñoz.

In her speech, Arroyo cited her administration’s efforts in ensuring food stability of the country, noting the introduction in Nuevo Ecija of additional irrigation facilities as the Casecnan and Aulo dams which have led to increased palay production. In 2007, Nuevo Ecija produced 1,231,176 metric tons of palay.

The President said the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) is helping in her administration’s country-wide development projects.

But she challenged local farm groups to help in the country’s efforts to earn dollars which would be used for the purchase of petroleum products.

In answer, Governor Umali said that Nuevo Ecija is helping earn dollars for the country through export of several agricultural products such as brown rice, rice coffee, and handicraft made of rice straws and common grass.

President Arroyo prodded the governor to rush the construction of the P13.59-billion Balintingon Reservoir Multipurpose Project (BRMP) at the tri-border of Nuevo Ecija, Bulacan, and Pampanga.

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