TABUK CITY, Kalinga (PIA) — The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) Kalinga Irrigation Management Office aims to expand its contracts with Irrigators Associations (IAs) in the province to produce more rice to be sold at P29 per kilogram (kg) next year.
Engineer Ferdinand Indammog, Acting Division Manager of NIA-Kalinga, said they plan to contract with more IAs to increase rice production for the Bagong Bayaning Magsasaka(BBM) Rice, making it available not just to vulnerable sectors, but to all families.
NIA-Kalinga contracted this year 246 hectares with nine IAs. It targets to contract 882 hectares next year with additional IA cooperators.
“Tadta pay lang ta bassit, kasla per priority mi tapnu maikkan amin. Daytoy priority nga maikkan tadta ket from vulnerable sectors kas iti solo parent, senior citizens, PWD ken dagitoy member ti 4Ps. For now pay lang daytoy ta tadta 246 hectares lang ti area tayo, ngem baka manayunan pay dagitoy ta nu next year ket 882 hectares ti target tayu,” Indammog said.
[Because we still no not have enough, we have to prioritize the vulnerable sectors such as the solo parents, senior citizens, PWD and 4Ps members. For now, this is the situation since we only have a production area of 246 hectares. There would be more next year since our target is 882 hectares.]
NIA-CAR has already sold 5,193 bags of ten-kilogram rice priced at P290 each in Kalinga, Benguet, Mountain Province, and Ifugao.
“Iti Ifugao, inikkan mi 250 cavans. Ti Mountain Province ket 250 met lang ti naited, ken pati ti Benguet,” Indammog said.[We provided Ifugao 250 cavans. So with Mountain Province and Benguet.]
Indammog shared that that the bulk of the rice sold in the Cordillera region under the BBM Rice program is from Kalinga, the region’s top rice-producing province.
More than 3,000 bags of rice remain at the NIA-Kalinga warehouse as of date, which will be sold every Friday until December, Indammog said.
On Nov. 15, 2024, more than a hundred residents from the different localities in Kalinga were at the NIA-Kalinga grounds to buy the affordable rice.
“Dakkel ti naitulong na kanyami daytoy P29 per kilo nga bagas, every day isu ti sapsapulen tayo ti bagas. Ti five kilos nga bagas nga magatang tadta ket P250, daytoy nga 10 kilos nga it-ited da ket P290 lang,” said Anne Dalisdis, 30, from Tanudan, Kalinga.
[The P29 per kilo rice is a very big help to us. Everyday we eat rice. The five kilos rice is priced at P250, whereas this 10-kilo per pack rice is sold at only P290.]
“Naglaka ti bayad na, nakamenus kami kesa gumatang kami ti nangina. Hopefully ket bumaba ti presyo ti bagas, dakkel nga tulong nu maibaba ti presyo ti bigas para kadakami nga senior,” Benilda Seggirre, 64, from Bulanao, Tabuk City said.
[It is cheap, we can save from buying the expensive rice. Hopefully, the price of rice will go down. It is a very big help for us, senior citizens.] (JDP/RGA-PIA CAR, Kalinga)
