NoCot extends aid to 200 IP farmers

FARM SEED BENEFICIARIES. Members of the B’laan women community in remote villages in North Cotabato patiently wait during the dispersal of corn seeds, the assistance of the provincial government to upland farmers on Friday (May 29, 2020). A total of 292 farmers, all belonging to indigenous communities, benefited from the program (Photo courtesy of North Cotabato PIO)

COTABATO CITY: embers of Indigenous Peoples (IPs) in four upland villages in North Cotabato have received aid from the provincial government.

North Cotabato Governor Nancy Catamco ordered the distribution of corn seeds and food items to some 292 farmers belonging to IP communities in the villages of Bacong, Daig, Bituan, and Batang, all in Tulunan, North Cotabato, after receiving requests from tribal leaders.

North Cotabato provincial board member Maria Krista Piñol Solis, chair of the agriculture committee, led the aid dispersal as the governor’s representative.

In her message shared by Piñol, Catamco assured the IPs that the provincial government shares its resources equally to all.

The residents, all belonging to the B’laan tribe, have been hit by earthquakes last year and limited movements due to the enhanced community quarantine status in the past several months.

“We thought the government has forgotten us,” Día, one of the beneficiaries, said.

Día said she was glad the distribution of corn seeds from the government came at a time when the planting season begins.

 (PNA/ Edwin Fernandez/ SRNY/ RSP)