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)