ASTURIAS
Kilos of rice were distributed to at least 196 farmers in Asturias town.
According to Jade Mesias, Asturias municipal agriculturist, farmers in Barangays Bago and Lunas, each received 20 kilograms of rice after their crops were badly damaged by the outbreak of Rice Tungro Disease (RTD).
RTD, which is transmitted by green leafhoppers (GLH) is one of the most destructive viral diseases which results to the degenerative growth of crops.
Crops affected by RTD show stunted growth, yellow to orange leaf discoloration, and have few reproductive tillers where the rice grains grow.
The rice supply given to affected farmers came from the provincial Capitol which provided the local government of Asturias about 90 sacks of rice, last Thursday.
Mesias said that while the rice might be considered as relief assistance, it is also part of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office’s (PDRRMO) Food-for-Work Program.
Aside from the rice assistance, Mesias said the PDRRMO will also send tractor trucks to help rehabilitate GLH infested rice fields.
During the rehabilitation period, the Department of Agriculture in Central Visayas (DA-7) will provide rice seeds to farmers; while Asturias municipal government had yet to come up with a budget for other necessities such as pesticides to control the spread of the virus.
Mesias said that farmers were advised to start plowing their fields and burning infected crops.
Currently, some of the farmers are raising livestock while others are relying on their relatives working in the city.
Based on official records, only 5% were actual landowners of the infected farms while the rest were tenants of the land being cultivated, Mesias said.