• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
About 500 residents of Pulupandan availed of the P20 per kilo rice program of the Negros Occidental provincial government, through its partner, the Federation of Irrigators’ Association of Central Negros-Bago River Irrigation System (FIACN-BRIS).
The FIACN-BRIS earmarked 50 sacks of rice for Pulupandan residents, especially those in the vulnerable sector such as senior citizens, solo parents and person with disabilities, its president Pedro Limpangog said.
A maximum of five kilos for each beneficiary were sold by the farmer-irrigators group, which received farm inputs and labor force support from the provincial government.
After Pulupandan, Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said the farmers’ group will also visit other local government units.
“We won’t focus on just one area, this will be a rolling store setup,” he added.
Limpangog said that as long as there are available rice stocks, they will continue to assist the rice program of the provincial government.
The sale of cheap rice by the FIACN-BRIS started in 2023, initially at P25 per kilo. However, they reduced it to P20 per kilo to align with the “Benteng Bigas, Meron (BBM) Na!” program of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. | GB
