At least 700 rice farmers in the Agusan del Norte town of Las Nieves are set to receive rice seeds under the agriculture development program of the local government with the support of the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) in Agusan.

On Thursday, about 1,000 sacks of certified rice seeds worth PHP760,000 were received by the Las Nieves local government from PhilRice-Agusan and the Butuan Seed Producers Multi-Purpose Cooperative.

The seed allocation forms part of the implementation of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund of PhilRice and the Department of Agriculture (DA) 13 (Caraga Region).

In an interview Thursday, Las Nieves information officer Michael Mandahinog said the rice seeds would be delivered to the rain-fed rice areas, particularly in nine barangays.

“Providing support to rice farmers is among the priorities of the administration of Mayor Karen Rosales. Las Nieves is among the rice-producing towns in Agusan del Norte,” Mandahinog said.

Las Nieves produced 10,433 metric tons of palay in 2022, he said.

The newly-received certified seeds, which include varieties NSIC RC 160, RC 216, and RC 436, are stored at the municipal warehouse and are ready for distribution by the Municipal Agriculture Office (MAO) to the beneficiaries.

“The MAO will post the schedules of the distributions to the covered barangays for the information of our farmers who will receive the certified rice seeds for free,” Mandahinog said.

All the 700 recipients are registered at the Farmer and Fisherfolk Registry System of the agriculture department. (PNA)