The Department of Agriculture (DA) has released P1 million to the Ifugao provincial government for the rehabilitation of the famed Cordillera Rice Terraces, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said Saturday.
“The P1 million fund will be used to operationalize the Cordillera Rice Terraces Rehabilitation and Development Council, a body composed of local farmers, people’s organisations and local government units, which will draft a comprehensive plan to bring back the 2,000-year-old rice terraces to its former glory,” Piñol posted on his official Facebook account.
The council’s masterplan will be presented to President Rodrigo Duterte and foreign investors to generate more funds for the rehabilitation effort.
The agriculture chief said the DA would also teach farmers new methods of planting rice to boost yield. The department also aims to help local farmers in marketing the “Tinawon” or “Heirloom Rice” to address poverty in the province.
Piñol said additional livelihood projects would also be introduced to the community. For one, each rice terraces family will be “awarded with two two heads of dairy cattle, which could be kept in a corral behind their homes.”
This story first appeared on ABS-CBN News Online and republished with permission.
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