OPA speeds up documentation for aid distribution to affected farmers

By Dolly Yasa

BACOLOD CITY—The Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) is fast-tracking the documentation of farmers in the province affected by the El Niño phenomenon and the recent armyworm infestation.

OPA Officer-in-Charge Dr. Dina Gensoli told reporters on Friday that “we are fast-tracking the documentation for the processing of the financial assistance distribution.”

She also mentioned that records need to be reconciled.

Gensoli said the documentation pertains to the P50 million financial assistance granted by Malacañang, with the check turned over by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson during the President’s recent visit.

She added that farmers whose crops were damaged by armyworms would also avail of the financial assistance from the President.

“It will be the governor who will schedule the distribution of the financial assistance, which is why we are fast-tracking the documentation,” Gensoli further stated.

Regarding the armyworm infestation, Gensoli said OPA teams were dispatched to the affected areas to determine whether they were dealing with fall armyworms or ordinary armyworms.

Fall armyworms are regarded as pests that can damage and destroy a wide variety of crops, causing significant economic damage, while ordinary armyworms are common caterpillar pests mostly affecting grass pastures, cereal, and rice crops.

These teams also orient farmers on how to handle the armyworm infestation. Gensoli said that the findings of the OPA teams and experts from the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) will be consolidated to formulate recommendations on addressing the situation.

The latest update from the OPA showed that the armyworm infestation has caused damage to corn amounting to P10,832,037, affecting 753.38 hectares in 38 barangays across six localities. A total of 1,117 farmers have been impacted.