THE CITY government of Laoag, in cooperation with the City Agriculture Office, gave out 35 awards to outstanding agriculture workers as it celebrated the 20th Agriculture Sector Day held May 16 ay the city basketball court. The celebration was kicked off by a parade participated in by all farming barangays in the city, followed by the awarding program and a raffle draw. The awardees are: Jose Abucay, Most Valuable Farmer-large animal raiser; Pedro Bartolome, MVF-adopting integrated farming system-corn based; Balatong RIC as the Most valuable Rural Improvement Club; the City Agriculture and Fishery Council as the Most Outstanding Agricultural and Fishery Council; Magumbayan MPCI as Most Valuable Small Farmer Organization; Mrs. Raquel Guillermo as MVF-small animal raiser; Mrs. Lolita Agtarap as MVF-adopting integrated farming system-rice based; Jeffrey Corpuz as MVF-HVCC; Mr. and Mrs. Arsenio Butay and family as Most valuable Farm Family; Sampaguita 4-H Club as Most Valuable Young Farmers’ Organization; and Marion Cabrales as Most Valuable Young Farmer. The CAO also gave out the PINAKA awards to: Arnold Bareng for hybrid rice; Nemesio Basug for yellow corn; Virgilio Gaudia for garlic; Antonio Ablao for watermelon; Federico Cacot for upo and papaya; Eric dela Cruz for squash; Arturo Ravina for ampalaya; Arsenio Mateo for cassava; Honorato Manibog for mango; Jose Abucay for banana lakatan variety; Antonio Ablao for banana tukol variety; Eduardo Gabriel for tilapia; Alejandrino Gonzalo for bangus; Blas Cristobal for cattle; Rosito Juan for bull; Domingo Layugan for sow; Mario Pagal for buck; Michael Guzman for doe; Darayday, Laoag City for boar; and Elvie Badua for rooster. All awardees received a cash prize and a certificate of recognition from the city government. During the celebration, Laoag Mayor Michael V. Fariñas, who served as the guest speaker of the event, thanked all the farmers for making the affair a success. According to the re-elected mayor, it was his fist public speech in his second terms as Laoag mayor. Relative to this, Fariñas also expressed his gratitude to all the farmers who gave their support during the recent election. “Ikarik nga saanak to pulos agba-baliw a kas maysa nga anak, kabsat ken gayyem yo,” Fariñas said. In his speech, he also mentioned his priority projects for agriculture which includes the purchase of feed machine maker, irrigation improvement and providing a vehicle for the City Agricultural and Fishery Council. The re-elected mayor also tasked city agriculturist Oscar Recta to claim the newly donated tractor from China to be lent to the farmers. During the same event, the CAO distributed 470 bags of fertilizers to all farmers present as soft loan payable 45 days after harvest. The soft loan, according to Recta, is a great help to the farmers who are in need of fertilizers but who has not available cash. The soft loan is without interest. Dominic B. dela Cruz
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