Farmers displaced by Mayon’s unrest to get livelihood training
LIGAO CITY—Farmers in Albay province displaced by the continuing unrest of Mayon Volcano will undergo livelihood training while staying in evacuation centers.
With the volcano under alert level 3, about 12,450 farmers cultivating some 10,176 hectares of farmland could be affected, including 10,060 hectares of rice, 61 hectares of corn and 55 hectares of high-value crops, according to Lovella Guarin, information officer of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in Bicol.
In an interview, Guarin said the agency will conduct training for farmers and their spouses currently staying in evacuation centers as part of livelihood interventions while farming activities are temporarily disrupted.
“We have prepositioned buffer stocks of rice, corn and vegetable seeds, including farm inputs, but these will be distributed once farmers are ready to plant again,” Guarin told the Inquirer.
She added that information caravans and additional training are also being planned.
Despite recent pyroclastic density currents and rockfall events that blanketed some towns and farmlands with minimal ashfall, Guarin said no damage to crops has been recorded so far.
Pooling areas
“We have activated a command center, particularly at the Albay Breeding Station in Camalig town. The Provincial Agriculture Office (PAO) and the Albay Veterinary Office will lead the identification of animal pooling centers and the subsequent evacuation,” she said.
Guarin added that during past eruptions, more than 20 animal pooling areas in different municipalities were used as evacuation centers for livestock.
“We will prioritize the distribution of ropes, livestock and poultry feeds, laminated sacks and veterinary drugs for animals that will be brought to animal pooling areas,” she said.
Albay provincial agriculturist Cheryll Rebeta said in a text message that the province continues to assist farmers whose harvested produce remained unsold.
“If farmers have no buyers yet, we link them to the Kadiwa ng Pangulo,” Rebeta said, adding that the same intervention is being implemented by local government units in Guinobatan, Daraga, Legazpi City and Tabaco City.
Marketing
Rebeta said farmers who are unable to sell their produce may directly message the marketing section of the Albay PAO, as the provincial government will facilitate marketing through the Kadiwa ng Pangulo program.
“Produce sells quickly, and we buy it at the proper farm-gate price,” she said, citing an example where sayote was bought at P25 per kilo, the price set by farmers.
Rebeta added: “Farmers are not shortchanged because of their hard work and perseverance in planting—they produce food for all of us.”
Separately, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Albay Provincial Office said it is preparing a proposal under the “Pangkabuhayan sa Pagbangon at Ginhawa” program to support those affected by Mayon’s unrest.
DTI Bicol Information Officer Bhem Berango said their office is still determining how many of its clients have been impacted by the ongoing volcanic activity.
