LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – The provincial government of Benguet handed over multi-million-peso worth of seed and food assistance to more or less 5,000 farmers from the different parts of the province whose vegetable farms and crops were heavily damaged during the onslaught of typhoon “Pepeng” to give them something to start their lucrative trade at the start of the New Year.

At the same time, Benguet Gov. Nestor Fongwan called on the national government through concerned line agencies to assist the provincial and municipal government in providing sufficient assistance to the thousands of affected farmers until they have recovered from their huge losses over the past several months.

He disclosed the amount of damages to crops and agriculture infrastructure excluding farm-to-market roads at P281 million.
The vegetable-producing towns which were hardly hit by the super typhoon were Buguias, La Trinidad, Kibungan, Tublay and Atok.

Despite the heavy damages inflicted by the typhoon to the agriculture sector of the province, Fongwan emphasized there is still enough supply of highland and semi-temperate vegetables which are being traded everyday at the vegetable trading post.

Thousands of sacks of assorted vegetable seeds and food items were given to the deserving farmers so that they will have something to plant and produce in the coming months in order to sustain the abundant supply of vegetables being brought to various markets in the different parts of the country.

In terms of food, Fongwan assured the affected farmers that there is a sufficient supply from the provincial and municipal social welfare and development offices which will be given to them while they are trying to cope up with the problem on where to get their source of food until they have harvested their crops.

The different farmers’ groups in the province hailed the efforts of provincial and municipal officials in trying to provide them with their basic needs while they are trying to raise the crops for the next harvest season.