(Photo courtesy of PNA)
LUNA, Apayao — The municipal government of Luna is purchasing rice directly from local farmers’ cooperatives for its rice assistance program, providing food support to residents while creating additional market opportunities for local rice producers.
Mayor Januario Garde said Thursday that the initiative is funded through a Php 5 million allocation from the Local Government Support Fund (LGSF) provided by the Office of the President.
Instead of purchasing rice from suppliers outside the province, the municipal government partnered with local farming cooperatives to source supplies directly from their members.
“Instead of buying rice supply from other provinces, we negotiated with local rice farming cooperatives to help provide the needed supply by buying the rice produced by their farmer-members,” Garde said.
The mayor described the arrangement as a mutually beneficial initiative that addresses food assistance needs while supporting farmers’ incomes.
“This is two-way – giving assistance and helping the farmers sell their rice produce at a good price. It is a win-win situation for residents of our town,” he added.
Under the program, each beneficiary household receives 10 kilograms of rice every quarter, providing a total of 40 kilograms annually.
The municipal government has started distributing the final two tranches of rice assistance to households that previously received the first two allocations.
Garde said authorities are targeting the completion of the distribution before December.
The mayor acknowledged that the initial Php 5 million funding was insufficient to cover all households in the municipality.
To address the shortfall, the provincial government provided additional assistance to ensure that families excluded from the municipal allocation would also receive rice.
“We do not want to leave anybody without receiving, so we remedied the situation by asking the provincial government to cover for them,” Garde explained.
He also thanked President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for the financial assistance extended to local government units through the LGSF.
The funding forms part of the national government’s rice assistance initiative, which provides allocations to cities and municipalities to support households facing economic challenges.
Apart from municipal allocations, barangays received Php 200,000 each, with Php 100,000 designated for scholarships and the remaining Php 100,000 intended for priority community projects.
Provincial governments also received LGSF allocations, primarily to supplement municipal funding and expand the reach of assistance programs.
Garde emphasized that sourcing rice locally allows government assistance to benefit both consumers and producers, helping strengthen the municipality’s agricultural economy while ensuring food support reaches residents.
