In a report submitted by the Participatory Monitoring and Tracking (PMT) team of the Agricultural and Fishery Council (AFC) and the Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries (PCAF) on October 26 to 30, 2021, 14 out of 20 projects visited by the team in Quirino and Isabela have been fully utilized.

The team monitored various projects in the municipalities of Diffun, Maddela, Aglipay, Cabarroguis in Quirino and Santiago City in Isabela. 

The report also revealed that although 14 have been utilized, there are four that are yet to be utilized and two were already utilized but needed repair and replacement of spare parts.

Farmer–recipients from barangays of Diffun, Maddela and  Santiago City said they were grateful to the DA for granting them the multi-purpose drying pavements (MPDP).

In the case of the MPDP in Brgy. Batal in Santiago City, Isabela has been fully utilized by 200 farmer-beneficiaries and can accommodate 100 sacks of rice or corn per day. The Barangay Council of Batal manages the utilization of the MPDP and uses a first-come-first served basis and free-of-charge scheme for the beneficiaries. Although the council is yet to pass an ordinance for the utilization and maintenance of the MPDP. 

Meanwhile, the cassava chipper which is funded under the National Corn Program and located in Brgy. Dumanisi in the municipality of Diffun, has not yet been utilized due to low demand and unavailability of market. 

On the other hand, the chipper in Brgy. San Ramon, Aglipay has been utilized by the members of Gunglo Farmers Association.  According to the monitoring report, the quality of processed cassava chips is not acceptable to the buyers so there is a need to redesign the cutter to improve the quality of the cassava chips. 

In Brgy. Cofcaville in Maddela, it was reported that the combine harvester with bailer has not been utilized during the recent cropping season due to worn-out spare parts. The bailer is no longer functioning, so the members of the Cooperative decided to detach it from the harvester. 

The walk-behind transplanter with seedling tray and seed spreader, which was funded under the National Rice Program and located in Brgy. Dumabato Norte, Maddela, has been utilized in the last cropping season to assist the farmers during the drought.

It was also revealed in the report that the solar-powered irrigation system, funded under the High-Value Crops Development Program, located in Brgy. San Ramon, Aglipay, has been fully utilized but the targeted three-hectare production area was not met due to low supply of groundwater. 

Under the National Organic Agriculture Program, the shredder machine, located in Brgy. Villamor, Cabarroguis, Quirino, has been utilized to produce organic fertilizer at the vermicomposting facility of the Provincial Nursery of the Provincial Agriculture Office.  The compost sieve machine and the vermi brewer are yet to be utilized while awaiting for the vermicomposting to be harvested.

The organic fertilizer that will be produced in the vermicomposting will be used to produce seedlings of cacao, coffee, and fruit-bearing trees such as guyabano, rambutan, and lanzones, said the report. | JB with reports from WeTrack and MES